Shadowed Conviction
by MikoGoddess
Summary: hiatus-Since he turned 14, Sora has been seeing strange shadows everywhere, but nobody believes him. That was until they attacked him at school, and took him away. Now Riku's determined to get him back, while Sora fights a battle he doesn't understand. RS
1. When Dreaming Is More

Disclaimer: Do I seriously have to write anything here? I mean…come on. Kingdom Hearts belongs to Disney and Squaresoft/enix. Though I give all credit to anything good in these games to SquareEnix, as they are the masters of brilliant stories. Disney just wanted some money…greedy bastards cough Aaaaanyway….

Author's note: First off…I have to tell you that this fic had great inspiration from another fic that I read, and so, there are minor similarities. The fic was called "Insane Asylum" by Hearts.Pocky. And Hearts, if you read this, tell me if you're offended, kay? I'm not trying to plagiarize. (Besides, the only real similarity is Sora's unfortunate affinity to the supernatural)

**Genre:** Action/Adventure, Romance, Angst

**Warnings: **Some strong language, boyxboy lovin' (nothing too graphic though, we'll see how that goes upon request), ummm…I think that's all really. Larger summary can be found in my profile if you want it. And now on with the story!

- - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - -

**Chapter 1: When Dreaming is More**

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Sora jerked from a deep sleep with a yelp, instantly awake, and cerulean blue eyes darted around the pitch-black room. He ran his hand over his face, wiping cinnamon brown locks from his sweat-drenched forehead.

He brought his hand away to notice it was shaking. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath, willing his heart to slow its frantic beating.

It had been that same dream again, only this time more vivid than ever before. As much as people dismissed his dreams as just that –mere dreams- he knew it was something more. It just had to be. Recurring dreams about shadow creatures forming from the ground and attacking the people, in such vivid detail at that, could not be only his imagination.

It wasn't just the dreams though.

The whole thing was a recent development; it started a year ago, when he was fourteen. It started with an innocent nightmare, of vague and fuzzy shadow creatures attacking from the dark, and a voice. Sora could remember the first time he heard that voice so clearly, and shuddered, even now, any time the memory of it appeared in his mind.

"_Sora, the hour of darkness approaches……surrender your heart to me...or prepare yourself…"_

That was what the voice had said in deep, rumbling tones that spoke volumes of power. The statement had been followed by a maniacal laughter, and Sora was pretty sure the meaning of the words held no intention of wooing him, or were in no way meant to be romantic. He never could make sense of it, and whenever he tried to talk to someone about it –even his parents, who were supposed to believe you no matter what- they would only wave it off stating it was just a dream.

Sora knew better.

The dreams started happening more frequently, and after reaching a certain intensity, the world of his dreams decided to crash with reality. He started to see the creatures outside in the park, or at school, even in his own living room at home.

His world became a haze of sleep and sleeplessness; of dreams and reality. The lines of both were becoming blurred, and Sora was truly afraid he was going to be sucked into this dream world and never see the unfiltered daylight of reality again.

Sora again inhaled a deep breath, and lay back on the covers of his bed, having no desire to attempt sleep again. Something had been different about that dream…what was it? It had been clearer, yes, but there was something…he hit his fist to his forehead a couple times, straining to remember what the dream had consisted of. The shadow creatures were there again, more diverse and plentiful than ever. That was it! There had been others. Not just monsters…but people. There was another person, covered entirely in a black cloak. All he had been able to see of the person was his mouth (it was obviously a male figure under the form-flattering cloak). And the feral grin that had appeared in that one spot of the face Sora could see had unnerved him greatly. That was the reason he had woken up.

Sora groaned and rolled over onto his side, curling into a ball and grabbing a stuffed white lion next to him.

He smiled a bit as he remembered where this particular lion had come from, welcoming a short distraction from his dreams. He had gone to a carnival with Riku and Kairi a few years ago, when he was twelve. Kairi had gone off to some ride she wanted to try, and Sora and Riku were walking by the game booths. Suddenly Sora stopped at one that had these plush lions. Sora had giggled and pointed them out to his silver haired friend, claiming they reminded him of the other boy. Riku had chuckled and rolled his eyes as they walked past. As it was getting close to the time they had to leave, Riku disappeared for a bit (freaking Sora and Kairi out a lot), and after much panicking from the two, Riku walked up to their meeting place carrying one of the white lions. He smirked at Sora and handed him the plush toy, ruffling Sora's spiky hair and stating they should head home.

Sora never stopped grinning that night.

Lost for a moment in his memories, Sora mused over his relationship with his friends. He'd always felt a closer connection with Riku than with Kairi. She was still his other best friend of course, but for Sora there was one person that claimed the title of 'true best friend', and that was Riku. He supposed part of it was that he admired the much stronger teen. Riku was always good at everything he did, and that fact alone had always challenged Sora to do his best, no matter what.

A sigh escaped Sora's lips as he thought about his friends. They were still the 'infamous trio' among Destiny High, but there was something off about their friendship lately. He felt as if the other two were drifting away from him, as if carried away by a raft out into an unforgiving vast sea. Every time he would reach out a hand, a wave came by to carry them further away as if teasing him, taunting him with the fact that his friends were within his reach, if only he could grab hold.

Try as he might to hold them in, tears leaked silently from his eyes as his thoughts mulled around his head in depressing circles. If it weren't for these stupid dreams, none of this would be happening. He would be living the blissfully happy life he'd always had before, goofing around with his best friends, not worrying about stupid shadow creatures and disembodied voices. Sora shuddered, and in a voice broken by a sob, he whispered into the dark room, "What do you want from me…?"

He eventually did go back to sleep that night.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The absolute normalcy of his monotonous school schedule almost seemed strange to Sora now. Every day he would get up and go to school. Every day he would pretend that everything was normal, and would try to avoid any mention of shadows, strange dreams, and hallucinations. But still they were there. And his friends would notice his almost jittery distractedness. And the fact that his grades were slipping tremendously had not gone unnoticed by them or the teacher.

"Sora?"

Sora blinked and looked up. Had he spaced out again? "Y-yes sir?" he answered the teacher of his first period class.

"Care to answer my question for the class?" There were a few giggles and snickers around the classroom. Sora blushed, and sank into his seat, wishing it would swallow him there on the spot. "Umm…the theory of relativity?"

The teacher gave him a blank stare as some people broke into actual outright laughter. "I'm sorry, that's incorrect. The answer is 6. Perhaps you should try paying attention from now on?"

"Yes sir…" Sora muttered, hiding his face in his hands. Pay attention? Who was he kidding? He hadn't been able to pay full attention to anything since this living nightmare started. With eyes shut tight in annoyance, humiliation, and desperation, he missed the concerned glance that passed between his two best friends sitting next to, and behind him.

When the time for lunch finally arrived, Sora was already wishing for the day to be over. After a quick glance around the cafeteria, he found his friends (not that it was hard when searching for bright red, and shining silver, hair) and went to sit with them. Shortly after, they were joined by Tidus, Selphie and Yuffie. There was a lot of chatter as everyone went over their plans for the weekend (as today was Friday) and went over how their night before had been. It was a weird tradition in their group and almost every day they asked about their friends' previous night. Sora kept his eyes on his plate, and only listened, wishing his stories wouldn't get him strange stares and concerned glances.

"How 'bout you, Sora? Had a good night?" Selphie asked with a cheerful grin expressing all of her naïve, yet ideal, happiness in one notion.

Sora blinked and looked up, surprised at the sudden attention turned towards him. Blue eyes widened when he realized everyone was actually waiting for an answer. He hesitated and actually considered for a moment telling them of the small shadow creature in his house. The one he'd actually had to fight off with a frying pan from the kitchen, when before they'd only been vague images. His worry over that event, and what it could mean, was the reason he was so out of it today, as his concern had kept him up for many hours. "No- yes, I-it was fine." He finally decided would be a safe enough answer, though silently cursed his slip of words.

His eyes found Riku's, and there was a calculating look in those aqua eyes that froze Sora to his seat, and prevented him from looking away. He felt like the older boy was looking into his mind or something, and wondered what he'd found in his expression when the gaze was finally broken, and Riku returned to his meal. A soft hand on Sora's shoulder had him turning his head to Kairi, whose eyes looked more concerned than anything.

Sora immediately felt himself tense. That was the look; the one he hated. Sure, being cared about was nice, but this expression held more pity than anything, and was more in concern for his mental health, than for his mental well-being. He shrugged her hand off without being harshly obvious, and shook his head. "I'm fine, Kairi" he muttered, more to make her stop looking at him like that than anything.

"Sora…what's going on with you, man?" Tidus spoke this time, a look of genuine curiosity on his face. He hadn't had things explained to him as deeply as some. He was only told vague explanations about Sora, dreams and possible hallucinations.

Sora's hands clenched under the table, and he bit his lip to keep from retorting. Ever since he'd been 'visited' (the best word he could think of for the appearance of these creatures) by the shadow demons, his temper had become shorter. Something he was a tad bit ashamed of, since he'd always had the patience of a saint. That was the reason he tried so hard not to blow up now. These people were his friends, and they just couldn't understand…

"Yeah!" Yuffie piped up. "Are you still…you know…seeing things?" she asked in a whisper that was supposed to be secretive.

With a slight glare to Yuffie, Sora braced his hands on the sides of his chair to keep from doing anything rash. His knuckles turned white from the force of the grip. "Seeing things…" he muttered, more to himself than the people currently staring at him somewhat curiously. "Yuffie, I would--" but Sora never finished that statement as Tidus, sometimes a bit oblivious to the feelings of others, leaned over and whispered in Yuffie's ear, "I see dead people" It was only a whisper, but Sora still heard it. And then he lost it.

"Damn it, Tidus!" he shouted, loud enough for the whole cafeteria to hear, but he was a bit too upset to notice at that point. He braced his hands on the table with such a force it made the trays rattle, and stood up so quickly his chair scraped loudly across the old tiles. "I do not, "see things", okay?" He held up his hands, creating air quotes with his fingers around the words, 'see things'. "Don't talk about things you can't –or won't- understand!" Breathing heavily, and an angry flush adorning his face, Sora grabbed his backpack and swung it over his shoulder, storming out of the cafeteria and leaving a rather stunned silence in his wake. No one had ever seen Sora lose his temper before.

Someone whistled and muttered "Damn…" and then the cafeteria was once again buzzing with noise, although a common theme could be heard among scattered conversations this time.

Kairi leaned in close to Riku, who was watching the path Sora had taken with an unreadable expression. "Riku, I'm worried about him…" she muttered, watching as the double doors swung back and forth a few times before settling into place, clearing any suggestion that there had been any disturbance at all.

"I know…" Riku whispered back. This was not the Sora he knew. "You don't suppose there could be more merit to Sora's words than we give him credit for…?" he asked, not really expecting an answer for that, merely voicing his thoughts out loud. Something was seriously wrong with his best friend, and it was starting to affect his own mood as well. With Sora being so depressed, or whatever it was Sora was feeling, Riku felt himself becoming more irritable as well, and he wanted to find out what was wrong with the blue-eyed innocence and ball of sunshine he'd known Sora to be.

"Of course not…there's no such thing as shadow creatures."

Riku blinked a few times, turning to look at Kairi. He had to backtrack through his thoughts to remember the question she'd just answered. When he did he was a bit taken aback by the absolute conviction in her voice. Was she not even willing to give him a chance; a benefit of the doubt?

Riku shook his head, silver hair falling to shield his expression from view. He would not give up on Sora so easily. There was something…he couldn't understand it, but something just seemed to nag at his conscience, telling him to believe what the brunette was saying. But it was hard…the idea was so farfetched, who's to say Sora's overactive imagination (one of the more endearing, if not annoying, traits that Sora possessed) hadn't just run away with itself, and somehow convinced Sora of its existence?

Okay, so that idea seemed a bit out there too, but still he refused to believe so blindly that Sora had just randomly –and with no provocation- gone insane. Without warning, Riku stood up, bringing the attention of the previously distracted table to himself. "I'm going after him." He explained to the inquiring looks, and grabbed his own backpack, striding from the cafeteria in a much more composed manner than his younger counter-part.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

It didn't take Riku long at all to find his target. He knew Sora's favorite place was in the school's gardens, which had been created by the Agriculture Club. They were in a somewhat secluded spot in the back, and maintained beautifully with all sorts of trees and flowers and other assorted plants. Riku found Sora sitting on a stone bench in a clearing at the back of the gardens. His head was resting in his upturned palms, elbows on his knees.

Without saying a word, Riku sat next to him, offering a silent comfort, which he knew was the only thing Sora would want at the moment.

Sora sighed and allowed his body to slump sideways, his head falling on the taller teen's shoulder. "Riku…" he whispered, pausing for a moment as a few questions passed one after another through his head. "Do you suppose I really could have gone insane?" he finally asked, in an almost wistful sort of tone. Then he shook his head, and buried his face into Riku's shoulder instead. "No…I'm not insane…I promise. I don't know why no one else can see them. You believe me, don't you Riku…?"

Riku was silent as Sora talked seemingly to himself, and felt his heart clench at Sora's last statement. It was only whispered, but Riku heard in the soft tones a plea born from desperation. He felt as if he was Sora's lifeline, that if he were to say no, Sora might actually_ become_ insane and leave the real world behind. He rested his head against Sora's, and whispered just as quietly, "I can't say I fully believe you…but I'm not gonna say I don't believe you either."

When Sora failed to respond, he decided to continue, hoping he hadn't hurt him with that statement. "You have to see it from everyone else's point of view, Sora. Shadow creatures that sound like something that should be seen in a horror movie, and only you can see them…" He put his arm around Sora's shoulders as the boy tensed beside him. "However, I have never had a single reason to doubt the things you say. You've never lied to me…at least that I know of…" Sora chuckled lightly at Riku's mischievously accusing tone, "And you're the most sincere person I've ever had the pleasure of knowing. To think that you would lie about something so serious, or make something up and purposely make everyone think you're crazy…well that idea in itself sounds a bit crazy doesn't it?"

Sora smiled at his best friend's words, and relaxed, moving closer to Riku, seeking comfort that was so often denied him lately. "Thank you Riku…you have no idea how much that means to me." He paused, and sighed deeply. "I…I know it sounds crazy, you know? Even listening to myself I sometimes wonder. But then I'll see them…and my only thought is that I have to warn people. Tell them to run because he'll kill them, or the creatures will attack. I…Riku…I fought one this weekend."

In a moment of surprise, Riku pulled away and stared wide-eyed at Sora. "What?" he asked, not quite understanding how that was possible. "Sora…I thought these things were just hallucinations…you shouldn't actually be able to touch it!"

Sora's gaze again turned thoughtful as he turned to look out into the gardens. "I know…" he smiled with little humor "Gods, I was scared out of my mind. It actually attacked me, and I grabbed a pan from the kitchen and beat it until it went away…look" He muttered and pulled up the sleeve of the black hoodie he was wearing. There on his arm, plain as day, were four scratches running parallel to each other across his arm.

"Oh my god…Sora, that thing did this to you? But how…I mean why…how could it…have you told anyone?" Riku rambled, holding Sora's arm and examining the scratches, as if trying to find away to prove they weren't real.

Sora answered with a deadpan stare. "Think about that statement for a second, Riku. Who could I have told? No one believes me, they'd probably say I got the stupid scratches from a cat."

"They're too far apart to be from a cat…" Riku muttered absently.

Sora smiled slightly and rolled his eyes. "I think you missed the point there."

"Huh?" Riku answered, blinking and looking up into Sora's eyes.

Sora cocked his head to the side, wondering if Riku had been paying attention at all. "Penny for your thoughts?" he asked, and watched Riku smile at the familiar statement they always used when one of them would fall off into la-la land.

"Guess I was just…weighing everything in my mind. Suppose I believe you, truly and wholly…" He glanced up to see Sora's eyes widening, shining with a hope and brilliance he hadn't seen in a long time. Riku felt it was worth everyone in the world thinking he had gone crazy too, just to see that look in his friend's eyes again. "What could I do to…help?"

Sora fought with himself for a moment, trying to blink back tears of sheer happiness, then just thought 'screw it' and threw himself at Riku, catching the other boy off guard and tackling him to the ground. That distance he felt had been growing between them closed in an instant, and Sora found himself muttering 'Thank you' over and over again into Riku's neck. When finally coherent thought returned to him, he thought over Riku's last question. What could he do…? After a few moments deliberation, in which Riku watched the expressions cross Sora's face curiously, he finally said, "You could teach me to fight."

It was a little bit odd to hear Sora, sweet, innocent Sora, request such a thing. Sure they had brandished sticks at each other before in a mockery of sword fighting, but it was nothing serious, and it was more of a 'try to hit the swords together' fight than 'try to strike your opponent' type of thing. But when he looked into Sora's eyes, which held nothing but honest question, he knew this was no joke, and that Sora wasn't just talking about play-fights on the beach.

Sora knew Riku, if anyone, would be able to teach him useful ways to survive. His silver haired friend had taken karate classes for years, and in them had learned sword fighting as well.

"It almost seems wrong to teach you that kind of stuff, you know?" Riku asked with a saddened smile on his face. "Like I'm taking away the thing that makes you…you." Riku mumbled, not entirely sure if he was getting the point he was trying to make across.

"Like you're taking away my childishness…" Sora cleared up for him. Then he laughed, and replied, "Well, people keep telling me I need to grow up. I'm still me, Riku, and I always will be. You know that. I just…that thing _attacked _me. I can't be me if I'm dead, now can I?"

The sentence was said lightly, but it struck a chord in Riku. His eyes widened as he thought about this boy, his Sora, being gone…just _gone_, and he felt his heart constrict painfully just thinking about it. After a quick reprimanding of his conscience to stop being so damned emotional, he grabbed Sora (who hadn't moved from his position lying on top of him) in a bone crushing hug, inhaling the boy's scent, and appreciating the fact that he was just _there_ for the first time. "No, Sora. No you couldn't. I'll teach you, and you'll be the best damn fighter the world's ever seen…" He muttered, and Sora couldn't help but smile. He knew there was a reason Riku was his closest friend.

After a few moments, Riku awkwardly released his hold on the boy above him, and Sora took that as his cue to stand up, blushing a bit from the intensity of Riku's hug. Who knew Riku could be so affectionate? He grinned at the thought as he extended his hand to help Riku from the ground, and Riku smiled back. For a moment, it felt like everything was normal, as it used to be.

"Sora…" Riku started, breaking the moment and bringing them both back to the here-and-now. "Why don't you come over tonight? It can be like old times, yeah? You know…play some video games, eat lots of food…" He grinned as memories of many sleepovers past came to mind. "And…and I'll start teaching you what I know."

Sora nodded, glad that for at least one night, he could have a distraction from those things…and was genuinely looking forward to a night with Riku. How long had it been since they'd had a sleepover like that? He supposed he couldn't blame Riku, everything in his life had gone crazy after the dreams started, and nobody knew what to think. He even had a personal psychiatrist now, who also happened to be the only reason he hadn't been sent to the nearest insane asylum yet. Apparently he 'intrigued' the guy. Sora hated his psychiatrist…he felt like he was only an interesting experiment to play around with to the man. But there was nothing he could do about it…

"Sora? Sooooraaaa…" The brunette snapped out of his musings as he heard his name being called. Riku raised an eyebrow at him, and asked, "You okay?"

Sora smiled in return, and said "Sorry, I'm fine. Just got lost in thought for a sec. I'd love to spend the night. When do you want me over?"

"As soon as you can pack up and make your escape." Riku answered with a wink.

Sora laughed at the answer. That was the line Riku loved to use most whenever Sora asked that question. Sora's parents had always had a habit of being…overprotective, sometimes, and so it was a running joke between the two that every time Sora was to spend the night at Riku's, he'd have to escape his parents' lectures on being safe, going to bed early, and other general statements of concern. "I'll be there." He said, thanking any god that may exist that Riku was his friend, and that there was at least one person who would never, no matter what, abandon him.

They heard the bell signaling the end of lunch ring from the distant schoolyard, and without a word, both boys grabbed their bags and headed to their next class. Sora had never felt so light as he did at that moment.

- - - - - - - - - -- ---- - - - - -

Well, I'm rather proud of this story, and there's still a long way to go with the vague plot ideas floating around in my mind, but I'd like to know what you thought. So drop a review (constructive criticism is also appreciated)…and tell me if I should keep going!


	2. Hello, Sora

**Disclaimer:** Obviously I don't own Kingdom Hearts. Square Enix does. (And I heard that Disney told Square to be 'less dark' with the story in KH2. I think Disney should leave the story telling to Square…Cuz I wanna know what the story was _supposed_ to be like…)

A/N: I hate to whine…I really do. But if you're going to put me on your alerts list, would it kill ya to leave a review too? I'm ecstatic that you like the story enough to be alerted to the update, but it's a bit disheartening to an author to not receive a bit of feedback…and to have 87 hits with only 3 reviews…well, that just sort of leads one to think that their story was not worth a review.

Okay, enough of my complaining and/or ranting. Thank you to those of you who have reviewed, this chapter is for you guys. And now read onward!

- - - - - - - -- - - - - - - -

**Chapter 2: Hello, Sora**

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The rest of the school day passed somewhat quickly for Sora, as his attention wasn't on any of the subjects he was supposed to be learning. He was too distracted by his excitement. How long had it been since he'd spent time such as a sleepover with any of his friends? Even with Riku's acceptance now, his loyalty had been questionable in the beginning of the current events.

Although it was understandable, Sora supposed. It's human nature to stay away from things that frighten you. And even if Riku hadn't been 'scared' in the normal sense of the word, there was still uncertainty. That cautious tiptoeing around him was what had caused the brunette's doubt of his friendship with Kairi and Riku in the first place.

A quick shake of his head as the bell rang for the end of school dispelled such thoughts. It didn't matter anymore anyway. Riku was there. That was all that mattered to him at the moment. Sora gathered his stuff quickly, and sped out the door with the rest of the class. He didn't have that class with Riku; it was a silent agreement that they would each go straight home, then meet up again later.

"Sora…SORA!" Said boy was forced to stop with a huff as his name was called from behind him. With a slight giggle, Kairi walked up and set a much slower pace of walking than Sora had been going. "What's got you in such a hurry? I mean, I know school's terrible and all…but…" She trailed off with a smile, and Sora half smiled back.

Sora took a moment to silently study Kairi, and compared how he felt now talking to her, with how he'd felt with Riku. There was a certain…tension, in the air during his walk with Kairi. After a short talk with Riku, and laying everything in the open, they'd been totally relaxed, and their friendship had fallen into its old and familiar groove. But now…Kairi talked about anything she could think of, trying to make normal conversation, while avoiding anything controversial. She was dancing around the shadows, acting as if they didn't exist. Suddenly, Sora stopped, and it took a few more steps before Kairi realized this and turned around with a questioning gaze.

"You're afraid of me." The realization hit him as he said it. That was the difference. She didn't really show it, not so that anyone not looking would notice. But he could tell. It was so clear in his mind now. "I can't believe it…all this time we've been friends, and you're actually afraid of me…you don't trust me."

"Sora…I don't…what are you talking about?" Kairi was still just trying to catch up with the abrupt change of conversation…she had just been talking about normal things, why had Sora said that? Then the implication of his statement hit her. Her eyes widened, and she frantically waved her hands as she tried to argue. "No! Sora, how could you say such a thing! I'm not afraid--" But she was forced to stop as Sora began walking again, faster this time and head bowed low so she could not read his expression behind the brown tufts of hair covering his face.

After a few steps past her he stopped, and without turning around stated in a low voice, "Don't lie to me, Kairi. If you can't talk to me normally now, then maybe you'd better just not talk to me at all…" And then he continued walking, and Kairi could do nothing but stare wide-eyed after his retreating back, mouth agape with silent shock.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

He did feel bad, Sora mused as he opened his front door. But whether it was for what he said to Kairi, or the fact that she felt that way in the first place, he couldn't be sure. He could only hope that somehow he could get these shadow things to go away, and his life could go back to normal. Even though he was starting to forget what normal was…he only sighed at the thought, and smiled when his mother greeted him. "Hey mom, I'm spending the night at Riku's tonight, alright?" he mentioned as he passed by the living room, heading towards his own room at the end of the hall.

"Oh honey, that's great! I haven't seen Riku in ages! How's he doing?" The woman gushed in one breath, obviously excited that her son was being social again.

Sora smiled and rolled his eyes (with his back to his mother of course) and answered, "He's fine mom." He set his backpack down in his room, and started gathering his stuff, not that he needed much. Clothes, toothbrush, a couple of games, and he was ready. "Alright, I'm going now!" Sora called as he walked swiftly past the living room, hoping to avoid any fussing. No such luck.

"Oh, wait Sora!" His mother stopped him, and he sighed as she stood up from her position on the couch, and walked over to him, fussing over some piece of imaginary lent on his shoulder. "Remember to be careful, okay? And to look both ways before crossing the street, and don't talk to strangers, or--"

Sora cut her off with a slightly disbelieving laugh. "Mom, I'm not five anymore. I know how to take care of myself."

With a sigh, his mother relented and stepped back, though the teen was a bit surprised at the serious expression found in her eyes. "I know sweety, I just have this- oh, never mind. I'm just being stupid. You run along and have fun now. And tell Riku hi for me!" she finished with a wave.

Sora blinked a couple of times, trying to understand his mother, and, failing to do so, decided that he would just head over to Riku's. "Shall do mom. Bye!" he waved back and turned around, this time actually making it out the door.

It was a surprisingly quiet walk to Riku's house, even though it was the middle of the afternoon. It made the hairs on the back of Sora's neck stand on end. He didn't like the feeling one bit. His sense of danger had always been highly acute, which had saved him from many potential dangers in the past. But right now, he hoped with all he was that this sense was a fluke, and not an indication. Not tonight. Any time but tonight.

As he stepped closer and closer to Riku's house, however, the sense of foreboding began to be replaced with excitement. He couldn't remember being so happy to sleep over at anyone's before. Laughing at his own childishness, Sora stepped up to Riku's door, and knocked four times, waited two seconds, and knocked again twice. It was some weird code they'd come up with when they were little, and for some reason never grown out of.

The door seemingly opened by itself in front of Sora. Blinking in confusion, Sora slowly stepped forward, looking around for Riku, when he was suddenly attacked from the side.

"Gotcha!" Riku cried as he tackled Sora –who let out a very unmanly shriek- to the ground, causing them to roll for a bit before stopping. Sora's bag was lost somewhere near the door.

As they tumbled, Sora somehow managed to end up on top. "Ha! Pinned ya!" He stated with a grin, lightly poking Riku's nose.

Riku grinned back, and stuck his tongue out at the younger boy. "Yeah, okay Nala. Now get off me, I need to go close the door."

Sora laughed in answer, and rolled to the side, placing his arms behind his head in a lounging position as Riku closed the door, and picked up Sora's bag to put it on the couch in the living room. A few seconds later, a head of silver hair peeked around the corner from the living room. "Hey, you plan on getting up any time soon? 'Cause I'm up for a round of Smash Brothers if you are."

A competitive spark flashed across Sora's face at the mention of their favorite game, and he jumped up in a rush to get to the living room. "You're on!" he shouted and jumped over the back of the couch, landing –almost- gracefully on the cushions. Riku chuckled and chose to sit in a much more conventional way after turning on the TV and GameCube. He tossed Sora a controller, and settled in for a good old-fashioned smash-fest.

- - - - - - - - - - -

Countless games later, with Riku in the lead by only two kills, the two boys finally decided they'd had enough of the game. Sora pouted lightly at the loss, but any animosity was quickly forgotten as Riku suggested ice cream. In a single bound Sora was off the couch and halfway across the living room. "Ice cream!!" he shouted as he ran to the kitchen, where Riku was already getting out the bowls.

Riku laughed, and reached out his arms to brace Sora as the other boy skidded into the kitchen, socks sliding on the tiled floor. He ended up slamming into Riku, who let out a muffled "oof!" into Sora's hair as his back hit the counter.

Sora's eyes went wide. "Oh my gosh, Riku, are you okay?" he asked, glancing nervously at Riku's back where it hit the counter, then hugging the older teen tightly as if that would make everything better.

Wondering a bit at his friend's affection, Riku smiled and hesitantly wrapped his arms around the smaller boy's shoulders. "Yeah I'm fine. You must think so little of me if you think I'd be hurt from that!" he scolded playfully.

Sora chuckled and pulled back. "Of course, how could I even think the great and mighty Riku would be so easily defeated? Forgive me!" he finished with a flourishing bow.

"Brat" Riku muttered affectionately as he ruffled Sora's hair. "Now come on, the ice cream's gonna melt." And so he finished serving the desert. By the time they were finished, there wasn't much left in the one-gallon container of chocolate ice cream.

- - - - - - - - - - -

Licking the last of the ice cream off his spoon from his seat on the couch, Sora noticed Riku's gaze was staring out the window unfocused. "Riku?" he whispered, setting down his bowl, and scooting over so that he was right next to the boy. Then he followed his gaze out the window, and saw one of the most beautiful sunsets he'd ever seen. Riku's home had a set of large glass sliding doors facing the west, so they had a full view of the sun's descent. He took a moment to admire the reds, blues, oranges and many other colors of the sunset, before turning his attention back to the boy beside him. "Riku…what are you thinking about?" he asked tentatively, almost afraid to break the silent trance of his friend.

Riku blinked a few times, and turned towards Sora. There was a lot of emotion in his eyes that Sora couldn't even begin to decipher, and yet it seemed to be drawing him in closer…"I was thinking…" Riku began, and with a start Sora realized he actually had been moving closer, when he could feel Riku's breath on his own lips as he spoke. With a slightly embarrassed squeak, he jumped back to his previous position, cheeks matching the hue of the reds outside.

Smiling at his friend's actions, Riku turned back towards the window, and continued his sentence as if unfazed. "…about how one of the most beautiful things is slowly being consumed by shadows." His gaze flicked towards Sora, who'd tilted his head to the side at Riku's sentence. He smiled and pointed out the window. "See how the sun is surrounded by so many beautiful colors, but they're slowly fading, as they fall into the shadows of night one by one."

Riku sighed, and Sora furrowed his brow as he too stared at the fading light and colors. He didn't think he'd ever heard Riku say such words. They were serious, and the expression in the sea-green eyes was so intense, it was almost painful. What was Riku playing at?

"But you know…it's not so bad." Riku continued in the same soft, thoughtful voice. "Because even though the sun is fading now, you know that tomorrow it will come back even brighter. It may not have all of the same pretty colors, but it will be there and burning stronger than ever." His fists clenched, and Riku stopped speaking for a moment, biting his bottom lip in thought. "And maybe…maybe if the conditions are right, and the earth wishes it badly enough, even the colors will return to the sun in given time…"

Sora turned his gaze from the window to his best friend, and was shocked to find Riku's eyes sparkling with unshed tears. How long had it been since Riku had cried? Sora didn't think he could remember the last time. And now, for reasons Sora didn't even know, a tear found it's way through Riku's barriers, and left a wet trail down his left cheek. "Riku, why-…?" He stopped there, as he couldn't really think of a good thing to say, and instead decided to show his concern through action as he reached up, and wiped the tear away with his thumb. It seemed a little strange to him, to do something so gentle and, well, affectionate to another guy, but then, they'd always been really close.

Riku took a deep breath, and closed his eyes as Sora's thumb lightly grazed his cheek. "Sora…" he whispered, and was hit with a million emotions at once. It wasn't until he'd reached the end of his speech that he realized where all of those words were coming from, and he nearly gasped as realization hit him hard. He liked Sora. As in probably more than a best friend should. When had this happened? And why was he just now realizing it?

Opening his eyes after he felt the threat of tears recede, Riku looked up into the concerned gaze of his best friend, and realized that…these feelings had probably always been there. Or at least had been for a long time, only he'd been treating them as a close friendship, instead of allowing them the free reign into anything more. _How could I have missed it…?_ He wondered, shaking his head and smiling at his own obliviousness. And he was supposed to be the smart one!

"Riku?" Sora questioned, head tilted cutely to the side. "Are you okay…?" He was becoming slightly concerned, as Riku seemed to be in an entirely different world since they'd patched their friendship earlier. Had he done something to change his mind…? What if Riku decided he didn't want to help him after all? What would he do then? Sora's eyes grew wider as he worked himself up, imagination running away with him as usual.

"It's nothing to worry your pretty little head over." Riku answered with a smirk. He decided to push this revelation to the back of his mind. There was no point in even entertaining the thought of being anything more than friends with Sora. In his mind it was practically fact that Sora and Kairi would end up together, and that was the way it should be. So pushing the thoughts aside, he reached again to ruffle Sora's hair. He loved messing with the boy's hair; it was soft and fluffy and for some reason gave Riku the impression of a lion's mane. The younger boy stuck his tongue out, worries easily dismissed at that one familiar gesture.

"If you say so…and I'm not pretty!" he huffed, arms crossing over his chest.

Riku chuckled. "Of course not." He decided to ignore the raised eyebrow from Sora in answer to his sarcasm, and looked out the window to the now darkened sky. "Well it's gotten dark, but we can still try for the sword fighting lessons if you want. Or we could save that for the morning after a full night's rest, and just hang around inside and be lazy for tonight."

"Hmm…I pick the second one." Sora answered with a nod to confirm his own statement.

And so the next many hours were spent playing video games, eating dinner (which somehow was an afterthought to their earlier dessert), talking about the great mysteries of life, and whatever other random things they came up with to do. Riku caught himself several times that night staring at his friend, and thinking things that normally wouldn't think to be thought. It led to a few awkward moments on his part, but mostly he was able to act just like he always had, knowing it was probably better if he kept it that way. Especially now, the last thing Sora needed to worry about was feeling awkward around his best friend because of some stupid crush.

Finally, when the digital clock on the stereo in the living room was blaring '3:42', Sora let out a huge yawn, and fell sideways on the couch, (where they had been watching Pirates of the Caribbean) his head falling into Riku's lap. "I'm tired…" he muttered, eyes closing heavily as the words left his mouth.

Riku smiled softly, and ran his hand through the cinnamon-brown locks splayed over his legs. "Yeah, we should probably go to bed." He agreed, letting out a (much smaller) yawn of his own.

Sora hummed his agreement, and let out a contented sigh at the gentle caress of the fingers in his hair, making no effort at all to move.

Riku chuckled at this. "Are you just gonna sleep right there?" he asked, half wishing the answer would be yes, and yet knowing it should (and most likely would) be a no. So he was a bit surprised when all Sora did to answer him was nod, snuggling deeper into the cushion of the couch. His grin faded into a small smile, and he lay his head against the back of the couch, the movements of his hand slowing until he eventually fell asleep, hand resting on Sora's neck.

- - - - - - -- - - - - - -

It was only a few hours later, soon before the sun was to rise, that Sora bolted upright, breathing heavily and sweat dripping down his forehead. He felt as if he'd just had a nightmare, but he couldn't remember any details, or anything that it might have been about; it was more of just a feeling, a sort of foreboding that did not settle well on his nerves. What exactly had caused him to awaken like that? He looked over to Riku, who was still sound asleep, lips slightly parted from the angle of his head. Sora smiled softly at the sight, but frowned again when a shiver ran down his spine and the hairs on the back of his neck were once again standing on end.

His eyes darted back and forth frantically, searching for anything that had upset his sleep so abruptly. That was when he saw _him_. Sora gasped and scrambled backwards on the couch. There, standing near the window in just the right spot so that half his body was silhouetted by moonlight and the other was shrouded by shadows, stood a figure in a black cloak, hood pulled up so that only two glowing, almost catlike golden eyes were visible.

"Hello Sora…" the voice whispered, somehow speaking in such a way as to make the words menacing, even through the soft-spoken tones of a would-be friendly greeting.

And as soon as the words were out of this mysterious figure's mouth, Sora gasped, eyes widening as the familiarity of the voice brought back the memory of that first dream so long ago.

"_Surrender your heart to me…_"

The figure smiled, though how Sora could tell as the collar of the cloak covered the man's mouth, he wasn't sure. "I see you remember me. I have come for you, young warrior…" The man extended his hand, palm up and fingers extended as if simply asking him to dance.

"Wh-what do you want with me?" Sora asked, cursing his voice for shaking and sounding so insecure. His entire body was tensed, muscles coiled and prepared to spring into action at any moment should the need arise.

"I want you…to come with me." The man replied.

Sora shivered. He did not like where this was going. "Go with you…where? What makes you think I'd go anywhere with you!"

The man chuckled…evilly. "Dear Sora…to my world. Leave this boring existence, and come with me. I could show you a power beyond your wildest dreams!"

Sora raised an eyebrow. "And what, in the history of my life, would make you think I would care about power?" Who the hell was this guy? Some random shadow man comes into his life, interferes with everything, and then wants to whisk him away to god-knows-where as some sort of dark lord apprentice? He shook his head in disbelief, but stopped abruptly as he heard movement beside him. He turned and saw Riku's eyelids fluttering as he slowly left the world of dreams.

"Sora…?" he whispered, voice rough with sleep, and reached up a hand to rub his eyes. When he lowered his hands, he sent a confused gaze in Sora's direction. "Hey…are you okay?" he asked, sitting up a bit straighter as he noticed Sora's tensed position and fearful eyes.

"Riku…" he whispered, almost inaudibly. His gaze snapped to the figure by the window, back to Riku, and again to the man of shadows. Riku seemed to be trying to follow his gaze, but his eyes stared past the man, and out into the night sky, and he furrowed his brow trying to figure out what Sora was looking at.

The hooded figure chuckled in seemingly honest amusement at watching the panicking and confused teens before him. "He cannot see me Sora. You are the only one. And you are the only way into this world for the shadows. And that, dear boy, is why I need you to come with me, and if you continue to defy my requests, I might have to persuade you in…other ways."

His voice seemed less patient now, and Sora was frantically trying to figure a way out of this. He was the only way in…? What was that supposed to mean? He glanced at Riku again, and saw the concern in his friend's eyes. He was sure Riku was starting to pick up on what was going on. He might not be able to see them, but Riku was smart, he'd put two and two together. Sora directed his gaze back to the mystery man, and narrowed his eyes, "I have no idea what you're talking about. What do you mean I'm the only way in?" he asked.

Riku looked at the other boy with question in his eyes. "Sora…who are you talking to?"

The shadow man laughed. "Sora, Sora, I will explain everything to you when you come with me. Then you shall know it all. If you refuse to come with me now…you will never get the answers you seek."

Sora's lip curled up into a snarl, surprising Riku, as this seemed very random from his point of view. "I don't care! I'll just have to keep wondering then, because there's no way I'm going anywhere with you!" the youngest teen answered, the conviction in his voice absolute.

Golden eyes narrowed within the hooded darkness, and the frown was audible in the man's voice when he spoke next. "So be it." And he snapped his fingers. There was a moment of silence, in which Sora held his breath from anticipation of what the man would do, and Riku sat straighter on the couch, trying to understand what was going on. And then a shadow creature appeared in a cloud of dark smoke next to the man. It was much larger than the others Sora had seen before, almost as tall as himself actually.

Before the boy had time to comprehend what was going on, the man spoke a word in a language Sora didn't understand, and pointed towards Riku. The creature was quick as it leapt towards its target, seemingly out for blood.

"RIKU!" Sora barely had time to think about his actions as the tension in his muscles was finally released when he leapt forward, pushing Riku out of the way just in time. Sora was not so lucky, however, as the creature had been going so fast, it crashed into Sora, knocking the couch over backwards with the force of its tackle. He cried out as the shadow's claws caught his sides, and knocked the wind out of him for a moment as he hit the floor.

"Holy shit…" Riku whispered from his spot on the floor. As soon as that…thing had touched Sora, it became visible to Riku as well. So Sora wasn't crazy after all…or he was dreaming, but he dismissed that easily as he felt his head throb from where he'd hit it against the floor when Sora pushed him out of the way. Then he realized he was just sitting there staring stupidly while his best friend wrestled with some unknown monster. He jumped up, and ran to a room in the back of the house where his 'training room' was located.

Sora was able to pay no attention to what Riku was doing, however, as he was desperately trying to keep the shadow creature from beheading him. Its claws were sharp, and scratched Sora's arms when he threw them up as a shield for his face. In an attempt to throw the beast off, Sora rolled backwards, and kicked its stomach, throwing it into the wall behind him. Sora thanked his lucky stars the thing wasn't any heavier than it looked.

Not to be deterred so easily, the creature recovered quickly, bouncing off the wall, and launching itself towards Sora again. The brunette attempted a kick towards the creature, but it barely flinched, and wrapped its unusually long fingers around Sora's throat, and actually managed to push him against the other wall with its momentum.

Sora clawed at the creature's hands frantically, trying to pry them from the death grip they held him in. He gasped, and his vision started to fade…and then the pressure was gone. Sora fell to his knees, one hand lightly holding his throat as he coughed, breathing deeply in relief. When his breath recovered enough, he looked up sharply, trying to figure out why the creature had retreated. His gaze landed on Riku standing in the entrance of the hallway.

"Sora, duck!" he shouted. Sora didn't need to be told twice as he flattened his body to the ground.

As soon as Riku had entered the room again, the shadow's attention had been drawn to him, and it leapt toward him. Riku only had time to issue his warning to Sora, as he lifted the broadsword he'd grabbed from his training room. He took a moment to aim, and tossed it as one would a throwing knife. It spun through the air, and caught the shadow right in its chest, and propelled it backwards directly over Sora's head and through the glass doors, causing them to shatter in a shower of glittering shards. The monster faded back into a puff of cloud with a terrible shriek that had both Riku and Sora grimacing, and the sword fell carelessly to the ground below.

Breathing heavily from adrenaline and exertion, Sora and Riku just stared at each other in disbelief, but Sora's attention was quickly drawn to the side as the man of shadows –who had been forgotten by Sora up until this point- made a noise of frustration. "I see you wish to do this the hard way then." He told Sora, his eyes narrowed into slits; all pretences of friendliness had vanished.

Sora shivered. He didn't want to do this any way! But he was beginning to see that this, whatever 'this' happened to be, was inevitable. He was definitely going to have to fight…and he realized now that he needed Riku's help more than ever, which meant Riku needed to know what they were up against. His mind was working a mile a minute trying to fully comprehend this situation. His thoughts went back to when that shadow creature had attacked them. Riku had been able to see it, or he wouldn't have been able to hit it like that. But how? Then something the man had said came back to him… "_You are the only way into this world for the shadows…" _

That was it! By coming into contact with him, the shadows were able to take a physical form in this world, instead of being just a vision from some other world! In a moment of rash decision, and without even trying to figure out why or how he was some sort of walking inter-dimensional gateway, Sora leapt at the man, tackling him to the ground.

Taken slightly off guard, the man grunted as his back came in contact with the floor, but he quickly recovered and threw Sora to the side, knocking him into the coffee table. "Impertinent brat!" he yelled, standing up again, and dusting imaginary dirt from his cloak.

Sora wasn't paying any attention to him though; he was looking at Riku. Even through his slight daze from his head's contact with the table, he was able to see the surprise in Riku's eyes as the man was revealed to him. 'Good, now he knows…' he thought, looking back to the stranger, who had finished grumbling about Sora's behavior, and had turned his attention forward again, locking gazes with Sora. "This isn't over. I told you a year ago the darkness was approaching, and there's nothing you can do about it now. Your friend here won't always be around to save you, and trust me when I say I _will_ have control of your heart."

He waved his hand behind him, opening a large black portal that crackled with energy, and with one last disgusted look at Sora's weak form, stepped through.

Riku watched with wide eyes, a constant mantra running through his head that was something along the lines of 'No way this is real…' After the man's departure, his green eyes darted nervously around the room, making sure there were no more creatures or strange figures in his house, before his gaze rested on Sora. The boy was shaking, and he'd never seen his friend look so scared in his life.

Immediately Riku rushed to him, kneeling on the floor in front of the brunette, and took the boys face in his hands. "Sora…?" he whispered, a bit worried at the glazed look in the other boy's eyes. "Come on Sora, it's okay now, you're safe…come back to me Sora…"

Riku's voice slowly penetrated the slight shock Sora had fallen into, and he blinked a few times, the concerned face coming into focus as worried green eyes searched his own. Sora had to blink back tears as everything that had just happened crashed back down into his mind. His head ached, his arms and sides were bruised and bleeding, and he could still feel the ghost of fingers around his neck as if threatening to finish the job of strangling him at any moment. And to top it all off, the man's words of warning would not stop echoing through his head. "_This isn't over._" What else was coming…? Sora felt his lower lip tremble, and looked pleadingly into his best friend's eyes. "Riku…I'm scared." He whispered, almost too quietly to hear.

At these words, Riku pulled his friend into a tight hug, still mindful of the boy's wounds –something that would have to be taken care of soon- and rubbed small circles on his back. "I know Sora. But it'll be okay, you'll see. I don't really know what's going on…but just know…know that I'm here beside you, every step of the way. I'm not gonna let anything happen to you. I promise…" he muttered, barely paying attention to the words coming out of his mouth, as his only concern at the moment was to comfort Sora. He could understand now why the younger boy had asked to be taught to fight.

After a while of nonsensical mutterings, and silent comfort, Sora finally stopped shaking, but still clung to Riku tightly, completely ignoring the pain of his body in exchange for the secure embrace of his friend. The whole situation was so surreal, it sounded more like something Sora would have made up for one of the random stories he was so fond of telling in the more boring times, and yet at the same time, nothing had ever felt more real to him than the dangers he was up against at this moment. "What's going to happen to us Riku…? He asked, nuzzling Riku's neck, and relishing the warmth that assured him Riku was, and always would be, just there. And there for _him_ whenever he needed him.

Riku sighed, fighting a blush at Sora's actions, as this was no time for petty things like crushes. So in turn, he buried his nose in Sora's hair, inhaling the sweet, slightly fruity, scent of his shampoo. "Later? I don't know. But I do know, that right now, we are going to take care of all those injuries, and then we're going to give you a crash course in fighting and defense. After that, we'll take everything one step at a time, and face whatever is thrown at us when the time comes, okay?"

Sora nodded and pulled back slightly, feeling as he moved the full extent of his injuries. He winced in pain as he stood up, and allowed Riku to help him into the bathroom, where the first aid kit and other medical supplies were stored.

The brunette sighed as Riku lifted him onto the counter and tended to all of his wounds, and allowed his mind to wander a bit to the situation at hand. The silver haired teen watched as his friend seemed to get lost in his thoughts, brow furrowing as he frowned. "Hey" he whispered, patting the younger boy's cheek lightly. "Don't think about it now okay? We'll worry about everything later. For now lets just get you fixed up, and get some more rest. Lord knows we need it…" He muttered, allowing a small smirk to pull at his lips.

Sora smiled back, very glad to have Riku in on the situation. He always did have a good head on his shoulders, and his ability to keep calm, or at least appear calm even if he wasn't in situations like this, was more comforting and reassuring to Sora than any words could ever be. Riku was right, they'd get through this, and then everything would go back to normal.

Once they got rid of that creepy shadow man, they could go back to their lives, and things would be as they always were, and as they always should be.

Too bad this was something much easier said than done.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

I suppose it got a bit darker this chapter, but it's sort of going to be that way for a while. Sorry folks, but it goes a bit downhill for our beloved heroes before it can get better. I might not have all the details worked out yet…but I do have a vague idea of the direction. (And it seems I lightened it up a bit starting chapter five…I read back over this again and noticed all the angstyness and was like, 'wow…'. So know it's not all bad. ::smiles::)


	3. Complex Emotions and Dodgeball

Warnings: Fluffiness and manipulative psychiatrists. And a bit more fluffiness (to be continued in chapter four as well.) Not much to be warned about, just thought I'd put that up there…not that I'd even consider 'fluff' to be warning-worthy. Lol, just read on!

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

**Chapter 3: Complex Emotions and Dodgeball**

- - - - -- - - - - - - -- - - - -

Sora had never felt so out of place in his own school as he did that Monday. There were still bandages over his arms (that had been a fun story to explain to his mother, who had then suggested another trip to his psychiatrist, which was scheduled for today) and he wore a turtleneck to cover the fading bruises around his neck (luckily it was still cool enough to do so.)

He was quiet that day, and people kept sending him worried glances as they noticed his lack of speech. But whether the looks were in concern for him or for themselves, he couldn't tell, nor did he really care to know. His mind wasn't focused on the world around him anyway.

His thoughts continuously strayed back to that night at Riku's house. There was a foreboding again building up in his chest, only this time it was much worse than it had been that day. Truth be told, it was scaring him shitless. And there was absolutely nothing he could do about it. In an attempt to distract himself from these thoughts, he kept reviewing the fighting techniques he had learned from Riku, as he had been given a crash course in swordsmanship after that attack. Riku had thrown his all into teaching Sora, genuinely worried for his friend's safety, and they agreed to meet every day after school for more lessons. But even that wasn't enough to pull his thoughts from the downward spiral of worry currently forming a knot in the bottom of his stomach.

By the time the bell for lunch rang, Sora was becoming restless and fidgety, and he felt as if he'd been in school for days, rather than just a few hours. After getting some non-descript food from the lunch line, he took his normal spot at a round table near the window with his friends, though his gaze strayed past them and to the sky outside that was growing cloudier. Riku entered a few minutes later, also taking his usual seat across from Sora.

There was a very distinctly tense atmosphere at the table that day. Sora stared out the window, not even touching his food, and Kairi refused to look up from her own plate, eating with a constant annoyed pout on her face. Riku's concerned gaze was mostly focused on the tense boy across from him, though would occasionally flick towards Kairi, wondering what her problem was. Tidus, Selphie and Yuffie (the other members of their group that had the same lunch period) were all unusually silent in the wake of such awkward tension between the trio.

"Uhh…guys?" Tidus started in an attempt to break the silence. He hated silence. "Anything going on here we should know about? I mean…you're all awfully quiet."

Kairi stared at her plate and said nothing. Sora flicked his gaze in Tidus' direction, a look of contemplation in his eyes. Riku opened his mouth to say something –anything- but to everyone's surprise, Sora was the one to answer. But it wasn't an answer anyone expected.

He laughed.

For seemingly no reason at all, Sora laughed –a full, raucous laughter which's pitch threatened to give way to hysterics should Sora become any more frazzled than he was. Everyone at the table stared at him with wide eyes, all wondering what Sora found so funny that no one else could see.

Finally, after a few moments, and collecting a few stares from tables besides their own, he quieted down, and was almost instantly somber again. "Tidus…" Sora started, though his gaze swept across the table and pinned discreetly on Kairi, Yuffie, and Selphie as well to include them in his statement. "There is nothing going on that you should wish to know about. I've learned to take the statement 'ignorance is bliss' to heart, and I think it would do you good to do so as well." And with these vague words, Sora stood up, emptied his untouched tray into the trash can, and once again left the cafeteria before lunch was finished, leaving yet another awkward silence in his wake.

Slowly gazes were drawn back to the center of the table, and three of four people looked around at the others, trying to gather info that none of them seemed to have.

Suddenly, in an unexpected movement since she hadn't looked up once through the entire meal, Kairi stood and grabbed hold of Riku's arm, pulling him to his feet and dragging him out of the cafeteria without a word or a backward glance to the rest of the table.

Riku was contemplating stopping and asking what this was all about, since he could easily overpower the seemingly seething girl dragging him to some unknown destination, but thought better of it. He might be able to overpower her, but he did not want to incur Kairi's wrath right now, as she seemed very intent on something, if her expression was anything to go by. After being dragged through several hallways, Kairi burst through a side door into one of the lesser used and out of the way courtyards. The courtyard had a small garden-like area in the back, with a couple of trees, and three benches placed around a small fountain. Riku only had time to idly wonder why this courtyard wasn't visited as much, before he was roughly pushed onto one of the stone benches.

He muttered a small 'oof' at the unexpected contact, and glared at the offender. "Geez Kairi, if you wanted me to sit, you could've just asked." He muttered, crossing his arms and wondering what had gotten into this girl.

Kairi decided not to bother with an answer, and instead went straight to the point. "What's going on Riku?" Her tone was a bit harsher than she'd intended, and the words came out sounding almost like a police interrogation of a highly suspected criminal.

Riku blinked a couple of times. "You brought me all the way out here just to ask me that?" he answered her question with one of his own, not quite willing to answer the one thrown at him.

Kairi huffed and sat down on a second bench next to his. He wondered vaguely why she sat so far away. "You know as well as I do the others aren't as involved with Sora's…you know…" She trailed off, apparently at a loss of words.

Riku's indignation at that statement surprised even himself, but he decided not to question it as his emotions began taking over his thoughts. "Sora's what?" It sounded innocent enough, but Riku's voice held undertones of a growl, and Kairi looked at him in surprise.

"Oh come on, Riku, you know. H--" she might've gone on to explain, but Riku cut her off before she could begin her next sentence.

"No Kairi. I don't know. Sora's what? Problem? Condition? _Illness_?" Each word became louder and angrier than the one before it, and Riku found himself standing, using his arms to accentuate each description.

"Riku!" Kairi stood up as well, becoming angry in self-defense. "I just want to know what's going on! For some reason Sora won't talk to me anymore, and I know you know something, because you're the only one he didn't look at when telling Tidus off!"

"Well maybe there's a reason for that if you're going to be so pushy about the subject!" In the back of his mind, Riku wondered when he'd become so protective of Sora, that he would yell at even Kairi to defend him.

Kairi's jaw dropped slowly, obviously offended by Riku's words. "Well I have a right to know don't I? I'm his best friend! He should be able to tell me this sort of stuff!"

Riku raised an eyebrow, and was silent for a few seconds, watching as Kairi huffed and stomped her foot ever so slightly, threatening to break into a tantrum if she got much angrier. His next words were much calmer, "Yes, he should be able to shouldn't he? But you said it yourself; he won't talk to you. And if you act around him as you are right now, then I say he has every right to keep his mouth shut. Sora is…under a lot of stress right now. He's fragile Kairi." Riku sighed at that statement, and sat back down on the stone bench, realizing just how true those words were. "More than anything…he needs support, not accusations and interrogations. Yes, I do know more about the situation, but I'm not going to tell you. If you hear about what's happening, it's going to be straight from Sora's mouth." There was a short pause before Riku stood and walked out of the courtyard, leaving Kairi staring after him with a gaze mixed between anger, hurt, and utmost curiosity.

- - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - -- -

Sora aimlessly walked through the hallways of the school after his dramatic exit from the cafeteria. He had no destination in mind, and let his feet take him where they willed, while letting his thoughts run free. What was wrong with him? The way he'd laughed at Tidus' statement…he was even beginning to scare himself. He could see the concern in Riku's eyes as well, and wondered what was going to happen from here.

The feeling in Sora's heart wouldn't go away, a feeling of darkness pressing closer, constricting around him until he could barely breathe. He inhaled deeply, assuring himself he was still standing in the open hallways of his school, which were in fact well lit and very bright. The darkness may feel close, but he could also feel, on a deeper level of consciousness, a force pushing back at the darkness with equal strength, keeping it at bay.

The main question that kept running through his mind, though, was simply 'What is this darkness?'. No matter how many times he thought about it, he couldn't come up with an answer. Was there some bigger form to it? Did it even have a tangible form? How was it that 'darkness' itself was even after him? And why? What did it want with his world, or with him? And how do you fight a shade anyway? Was he even supposed to fight it? Just as these questions started to give him a headache, his mind was blanked of thoughts when he heard two very familiar voices nearby. Looking up and down the hallway, Sora scratched the back of his head in confusion, trying to figure out where the voices were coming from. Then he noticed an open window a little further down the hallway to his left. Students liked to open the windows sometimes, and it seemed this one hadn't been found and closed yet. He walked closer, and he lifted his eyebrows in surprise and curiosity as he saw his two best friends standing in the courtyard.

He stumbled upon their conversation just about the time Riku started yelling. He listened intently, and flinched a bit at the words Riku chose to use, even though they were said in his defense. And he watched with wide eyes, amazed at how vehemently Riku defended him, and at the fact that he had to be defended at all. But being the generally optimistic boy he was, Sora decided he would wait to judge Kairi for her reactions. She would come around; people just have different ways of reacting to different situations. And he could hardly blame her for being so rash, as he had no idea how he would act if he were in her shoes right now.

It was Riku's last words, however, that stunned Sora the most. He stood there by the window, gaping much as Kairi was, all sorts of emotions flooding him at the gentle tone of Riku's speech. '_He's fragile…'_ He didn't want to be fragile. He didn't want to have to be protected. He was pulled from his thoughts though as he heard Kairi's voice once again.

"Stupid Riku." She muttered, sitting down again with a huff. "Always think you know everything. Think you're so _cool_ with your secrets and stuff. Probably just made this whole thing up as some stupid joke anyway…"

Sora's eyes narrowed and he stepped away from the window after that statement. She was rambling now anyway. He knew she probably didn't mean it; she was just confused, and he hadn't helped with his flat out rejection to speak with her. Blue eyes widened as that thought passed through his mind. That rejection seemed to be part of the reason she was so angry now, and yet she was taking it out on Riku. With a heavy feeling in his chest, Sora concluded he was creating the very rift in their friendship he thought he'd felt before. He didn't want to tear his friends apart!

Suddenly feeling very claustrophobic, Sora turned on his heel and ran outside, back to the gardens where Riku had found him the other day. It wasn't a conscious decision; by now his feet just automatically took him there when he was stressed. He stayed there until it was time for his next class, never quite getting rid of that feeling of guilt for inadvertently pushing his friends apart like that, and the darkness pressed just a little bit closer.

Shaking his head to clear his mind, Sora began walking back to his class after the bell rang, staring at the ground the whole way.

The young brunette was beginning to wonder if maybe he should've just stayed home from school today, because throughout the rest of the day, Sora's mind was far, far away from his teachers' lectures, and he was able to pay no more mind to them than he had that morning. One of them made the mistake of calling him out in class, only to be frustrated two minutes later when the boy would not respond, and ended up giving him detention the next day, wondering if he even realized he had been punished.

Sora was only vaguely aware of it, and left it to his subconscious to note the day he was to serve out that detention, because his conscious mind couldn't care less at the moment. His thoughts kept drifting back to the conversation he'd overheard in the garden, and to the current situation between the three parts of the trio. Was he really causing such a rift between his friends? He couldn't let that happen. '_I'll talk to Riku about it this afternoon…'_ he decided. They could talk before he started his sword-fighting lesson today, and Riku would make everything better, just like he always did.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

When the final bell rang signaling the end of another day at the prison they called school, Sora couldn't have been happier as he jumped up and nearly ran from the classroom. He was among the first few students to trickle out the doors of the building, and so decided to wait by a nearby tree for Riku. He didn't have to wait more than a couple of minutes before he saw the telltale silver hair exiting the large double doors.

Riku greeted him with a smile, but Sora thought the smile seemed just a little less bright than usual. There were no words exchanged –after all, they had already agreed on their meet-up times. The only form of greeting passed between them was when Riku brought his hand up to rest on the back of Sora's neck, using the position to gently steer him from the schoolyard, but not taking his hand away once they were past it.

The presence of Riku's hand there was warm, and Sora found himself blushing at the rather intimate contact. His eyes widened when he felt Riku's thumb ever so gently stroke the back of his neck, sending the lightest of shivers down his spine. Curiously, he looked over to his best friend, trying to read the closed expression in the sea green eyes. His mind was pushed back to the conversation he'd overheard earlier, and couldn't help but wonder if Riku might be thinking about the same thing. _'He's fragile…'_ Suddenly feeling awkward, Sora ducked out of Riku's light hold. "Riku…" he whispered, not quite sure what it was he wanted to say at the moment. But before he could add anything else, Riku spoke.

"How was your day Sora?" His words were forced, and jerky, and his eyes focused on his pocket where he was now searching for his keys, as they were only a few more yards away from his front door.

Suddenly Sora stopped walking, staring at Riku with a furrowed brow. "Riku…what's wrong?" he asked, voice gentle as he took in the seemingly nervous boy before him.

"Nothing's wrong, Sora, why would you even ask such a thing?" he retorted, finally meeting Sora's skeptical blue gaze.

"Well, you're just normally not so…I don't know…subdued, I guess. You look…worried." He said, finally able to place the emotion he was seeing on the boy's face.

Riku opened his mouth to snap back with something sarcastic, to tell Sora he was silly for even thinking such a thing, but when he looked into the honestly concerned eyes of his friend, he found he couldn't. He couldn't lie to him. So with a heavy sigh, he said instead, "I _am_ worried, Sora." He turned around and opened the door with a soft 'click' as the key easily turned the lock. After they stepped inside and bags had been set down beside the door, Riku was surprised to feel arms encircle his waist from behind.

Sora didn't say a word as he rested his cheek against Riku's back, level with his shoulder blades (as that's the highest he reached against his friend's towering form). They rested in a comfortable but heavy silence for long moments, before Riku brought his hands up to cover Sora's over his stomach. "Sora…" he whispered slowly, not quite wanting to break this moment…whatever it was.

The arms around Riku's waist tightened ever so slightly. "I'm sorry," Sora said, his voice slightly muffled.

Brow furrowed in confusion, Riku quickly twisted himself around in Sora's grasp so that they were face to face, and moved his hands up to the sides of the boy's head. His thumbs rested on Sora's cheeks, while his fingers splayed across his neck. "For what?"

"You were fighting over me…" He brought one hand from around Riku's waist to rub furiously at his eyes, which were beginning to water. "I don't want you and Kairi to not be friends because of me! I'm not worth that…"

Riku's jaw dropped slightly in surprise at Sora' statement. "Oh Sora…" He couldn't believe his happy-go-lucky Sora would say such a thing about himself. He wrapped his arms around Sora's shoulders, and pulled the boy tightly against himself in a near painful hug. "Don't ever say that!" he hissed, nuzzling the cinnamon brown hair. "You're worth everything and more, and I don't want you _ever_ thinking otherwise, understand?"

Sora nodded, and his voice was tight as he tried to hold the sobs down behind his throat, and he spoke in barely above a whisper. "Promise you won't ever leave me?"

Riku found himself starting to fight back his own tears as a few of the sobs escaped Sora's hold, each one grabbing at Riku's heart. "I promise. I swear…I'll always be here for you." And he meant it. Every word. He pressed a light kiss to Sora's temple, lingering there for a few seconds. No force in the world could make him give up this boy now.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

It seemed hours later to Sora when he finally managed to get enough control over his emotions that he wasn't blubbering all over Riku. He didn't move, though. At some point in time, they had sunk to the floor, and now Sora was resting across Riku's lap, wrapped in the warmest embrace he'd ever felt.

Riku's cheek lay against the top of Sora's head, and Sora was slightly thrown off by how silent the other boy was being. Had he fallen asleep? No…his breathing was too irregular for him to be asleep. It was nice how Riku always seemed to know exactly what he needed. He inhaled deeply, and let the air out in a rush, leaning more heavily against the warm body wrapped around him. Then he felt soft lips press against his head in a butterfly kiss.

Sora shivered slightly, and he became aware of Riku's thumb stroking soft, slow circles on the inside of his wrist and palm. Eyelids fluttered over the bright blue eyes, and as he closed them he mused over Riku's recent behavior. Each touch was starting to feel less like a friendly gesture of comfort, and more like a lover's caress of affection.

But if that was true…what would it mean for them? Was Riku doing it on purpose…did he even realize it? And what if they really were intentional. Did that mean that Riku…liked him? Sora had never before spared a thought towards his sexuality, as he'd never actually been in love before. The closest he'd ever come to a relationship was with Kairi, but they ended up staying best friends instead, and he'd found no one since then. And now, as he thought about it, he realized with a start that he'd always compared every potential partner to Riku, even if he wasn't consciously aware of doing so. Riku, to Sora, was basically perfection personified, and he could never find anyone better. So he just never had anyone at all.

Riku, on the other hand, had had a few girlfriends, but none were ever that serious. And he knew for a fact that Riku had never gone farther than innocent kissing with any of them, despite the fact he was now sixteen. But did that mean Riku was gay? He'd never even been with a boy, no matter how little he'd done with the girls. Maybe Sora was just over analyzing everything, and they were just unusually close for friends. But thinking back to his own feelings…did this mean he liked Riku? Being an only child, he had no idea what a sibling's love was supposed to feel like, and never having been _in_ love, he didn't know what that felt like either. So who's to say a guy couldn't feel like this for his best friend? Just before his frustrating thoughts could start running in circles, a deep voice from above his head cut him off.

"Hey, you okay? You're looking pretty serious there." Sora's head snapped up in surprise at the sound of words. Riku had his head tilted to the side to see Sora's face, and his eyes glinted with the slightest amount of amusement in front of the raw concern, one corner of his mouth lifted into a hesitant smirk.

Sora rolled his eyes and smiled, sending a half-hearted punch into Riku's shoulder. "Shut up, you. I can be serious if I want to."

Riku's expression softened, and instead of teasing back like was expected, he lifted his hand, using his thumb to wipe away the last tears lingering on Sora's lashes. "I know." And he leaned forward to kiss Sora on the forehead, resting there for just a few seconds, before pulling away and standing up in one fluid motion. And as if nothing had happened, he began walking toward 'The room of doom' as Riku liked to call it, mainly because of the weapons stored there. "Come on, it's time for a bit of training."

Sora shook his head as if coming out of a daze, a furious blush gracing his cheeks. Right…training. That was, after all, the reason he was here in the first place. "Err…yeah, coming." He said as he clumsily stood up and ran after his very confusing friend.

When the brunette stepped through the doorway of the training room, Riku immediately tossed him a wooden sword. Sora let out a rather surprised squeak, much to his embarrassment, and fumbled with the sword, batting it from hand to hand until he finally caught it a mere foot above the floor. He let out the breath he'd held when the sword was first flying toward him, and looked up to Riku with a sheepish grin.

Riku chuckled, and couldn't help but notice how adorable Sora looked with that expression on his face. "I think we're going to have to work on your reflexes, if you're going to fight properly. You've no chance of winning a fight if you can't avoid the strikes thrown at you." He said, his smile sliding into a more serious expression as he went into teacher mode.

Sora nodded. Yes, it seemed his reflexes could use some work. "You're the expert." He muttered, swinging the sword around in slow, somewhat clumsy experimental strokes.

Riku smirked. "Right then. We'll be starting with a game of dodge ball."

"Er, dodge ball?" Sora questioned, letting the tip of his practice sword fall to the ground with a soft '_thunk_' as his attention was diverted from it.

Rolling his eyes good naturedly, Riku nodded. "In a sense, yes. The first exercise, I just want you to dodge, and you can set the sword down for this one. The next I'll want you to try to hit them back at me with the sword. Think of it as blocking the strikes of another weapon. It'll basically work your reflexes along with your sword technique, and you can get a feel for sword, and where it is most comfortable in your hands." He explained, already setting himself down for stretches.

Sora followed, and they spent about ten minutes on various stretches before starting on the practices. And unfortunately for Sora, they didn't start out so well. The very first ball hit him square on the forehead. He blinked stupidly as the offending object fell from his face, bouncing a couple of times before rolling to a stop a short distance away from its victim.

And Riku burst out laughing. "Oh my god…Sora…your…haha, your face!" he gasped out, doubling over as he clutched his stomach until the laughs subsided.

Sora pouted, and crossed his arms over his chest. "Riku…I wasn't ready." He whined, glaring at the other boy.

Riku managed to control his laughter so that he could speak again. "Sora…" he mimicked in the whining tone, before turning serious. "An enemy will not ask if you are ready. If there is any possible chance of danger, then you should be ready to fight, or defend. Just think of that as rule number one. Never let your guard down."

Sora sighed, and nodded. The boy was right, after all. "Okay." He muttered in a thoroughly dejected manner.

After a moment's pause, Riku tried to lighten up the mood again. "Come on Sora, let's give it another go!"

Taking a deep breath, Sora nodded once and slipped into a slightly defensive pose. "Ready when you are." He replied. But it seemed he wasn't ready whenever Riku was. He managed to dodge a few of the balls, but most of them seemed to somehow hit him, no matter how well he thought he had gotten away. "Riku, these balls are attacking me." He said randomly, throwing Riku completely off guard as he was reaching to pick another from a bag at his side.

Scratching the back of his head in confusion, Riku replied, "Umm…that is sort of the point, Sora. Unless you missed the purpose of this exercise?"

Sora shook his head furiously. "No, I mean they're purposely veering off course to attack me even when I dodged them!" he huffed.

"Oh…" Riku said, the word wavering a bit when he laughed. "Sora, I'm sorry to have to break this to you…but these things are entirely inanimate. I'm pretty sure they couldn't attack you if they wanted to."

But Sora wasn't to be placated by light humor. His pout became more defined, and more serious. "Then I'm just doing terrible…" he mumbled.

Riku sighed, and ran his hand through his hair. He set the ball in his hand down, and walked across the floor, standing himself behind Sora. He placed a hand on either of the boy's shoulders, and began massaging gently. "Don't get discouraged so easily, Sora." He felt the boy relaxing almost immediately at his touch, and smiled in satisfaction. "It's not the end of the world if you don't get something right the first time. Things like this take practice, and that's what we're here for. To practice." He pressed a little harder, moving lower on the brunette's back so that he was rubbing the boy's sides as well.

"Now what I want you to do is relax. You're so focused on dodging that you're letting it get in the way of your own natural reflexes. Let your body do the work, not your brain. It'll come much more naturally that way." He moved his hands back up, and rubbed Sora's arms as well. Sora let out a very soft moan as Riku's hands worked wonders on muscles he didn't even know were tensed. "Can you do that for me, Sora?"

The nod was slow as Sora attempted to answer through such a lovely daze. But then Riku's hands pulled away, and he shook his head to snap himself out of it. "Yeah…" he answered slowly. "Yeah, I'll try."

This time, when the ball flew swiftly through the air toward him, he didn't concentrate so hard (which wasn't all that difficult as his mind was still half on that wonderful massage and the feel of Riku's hands) and he sidestepped, turning sideways so that the ball flew past him harmlessly.

Sora grinned and stuck his tongue out at the evil object, pulling it back in quickly when Riku laughed. "Very good Sora! Just keep that up!"

And so the dodging practice went. Sora gained confidence as they continued, and by the end had dodged nearly everything thrown at him.

"Well done!" Riku praised, clapping a few times in approval, which caused Sora to blush. "You learn quickly, who knew?" he said with a teasing wink.

The 'batting' practice went much more smoothly for the most part, as Sora had had time already to get into the groove of the practice. He missed a few at first, and Riku was eager to step in with more helpful advice.

After two missed swings in a row, Riku walked up to him again, eyeing him critically, almost making Sora nervous with the gaze. "I think I know what your problem is here." He said. "You're treating the sword as an object."

Sora blinked and raised an eyebrow. "Umm…isn't it?" he asked, starting to question his friend's sanity. Forget his own problems, Riku was the crazy one all along!

Riku chuckled. "Of course it is. However, when you wield a sword, you have to think of it as an extension of your own arm." Here he placed a hand under Sora's arm at the elbow, and the other at his wrist, and lifted until Sora's arm was completely straight. He set his hand again on the younger boy's shoulder, and gently stroked all the way down Sora's arm and over the sword as he spoke his next words. "To truly wield a sword, and not just hold and swing, you have to think of it as a part of yourself."

Sora was beginning to wonder if Riku was doing this on purpose. All the touches, and close proximity. Question is, was it to mess with Sora, or was he doing that for himself? Because if it was indeed to mess with Sora's head, he was doing a damned good job. The boy in question just ignored Sora's inner turmoil, however, and continued with his instructions. "Your wrist," and here Riku wrapped his hand around Sora's much smaller wrist "Becomes just another connector, like your shoulder. If you think of the sword as a third section of your arm, then the movements will flow better, because you begin to use the natural tendencies of your wrist to control it."

He moved his grip over Sora's hand, and swung the sword languidly back and forth, up and down a few times, making sure that Sora's wrist rolled with the movements. "You see? Instead of being stiff, and using it as a tool, a better flow allows better movement of the blade, which can be a fatal advantage over your opponent."

Sora swallowed nervously, as Riku's face was awfully close to his as he leaned over his shoulder for the demonstration, and nodded. "So basically you're just telling me to be natural," he commented, beginning to understand what Riku was talking about.

Riku smiled in return. "Yeah, basically. Go with your instinct, your gut…your heart." He placed his hand briefly over Sora's heart, smiled at him, and then walked away to resume his position on the other side of the tiled area. "Let's start again, and focus on what I've told you." He commanded, picking up another dodge ball.

- - - - -- - - - - - - --- - - - -- -- - - - - -- -

About three hours later, when Riku felt that Sora could dodge or reflect almost every single thing thrown at him, they decided to stop for the day. They were lying down side-by-side, Riku with his hands behind his head as a pillow, while Sora was sprawled spread-eagle beside him, one arm flopped over Riku's chest.

"You really do learn quick." Riku stated suddenly. "I'm impressed. You're quite a natural with a sword. And in all honesty, you're just about the last person I'd expect that from…except maybe Kairi." He stared at the ceiling contemplatively as he praised Sora's work for the day.

Sora smiled and found himself blushing again. Who knew such simple praise from Riku would have such an effect on him? "Thanks…I think." He mumbled, and Riku responded with a grin. After the practice with the dodge balls, they had worked for just a little bit on sword vs. sword. Riku had gone easy of course, but Sora still didn't do too horribly for someone as inexperienced with weapons as he was.

"Riku?"

"Yeah?"

"What time is it?"

Riku lazily lifted his hand to glance at his watch. "Umm…it's 7:15. Why?"

Suddenly Sora shot up into a sitting position. "Crap! My appointment is at 7:30! Mom's gonna kill me!" He jumped up and ran out the door, leaving Riku sitting and staring stupidly after the spot he'd just been.

"Uh…bye?" he called after the brunette.

And as suddenly as he'd disappeared, Sora was back in the doorway again. "Oh, sorry!" he said in a rush. "I've gotta go, thanks for the lesson, I'll see you tomorrow ok, bye!" And without thinking he leaned forward, and pecked Riku quickly on the lips, as one might to a lover before they rushed off to work.

Riku's eyes widened, and as soon as Sora pivoted on his heel to run back out of the room, he froze as what he'd just done caught up to him. After all Riku had done that day, it had almost seemed a most natural thing to do. There was a very awkward silence for a few seconds, and Sora felt his cheeks flame, which soon spread to his ears and neck as well. He muttered something rather unintelligible that sounded something like 'oh my god' and dashed off to the front door, grabbing his backpack and sprinting back to his house.

Riku didn't move from that spot for a while after, as he gingerly touched his lips. Sora had just kissed him! He kept replaying it in his mind, trying to assure himself that he hadn't imagined it. Sure it hadn't been a 'real' kiss, but it was still lips on lips, and Riku felt uncharacteristically giddy as he realized that maybe he wouldn't have to hide his feelings after all. Ten minutes later, he sighed and finally decided to get up and get a drink of water. He would have to wait until tomorrow to see how Sora reacted, in order to see how he should act about it as well, although he definitely hoped that Sora wouldn't avoid the issue altogether. Then he smiled and rolled his eyes as he followed his own thoughts. _Since when did I become such a girl?_

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Sora reached his house in record time, and he practically threw the front door open when he reached it. After he'd closed it again, he dropped his backpack, and bent over to rest his hands on his knees as he tried to regain his breath.

"Sora, honey, is that you? You're going to be late you know, I—are you okay?" His mother walked into the living room, and her voice turned concerned, as she took in her son's appearance, still red in the face and breathing heavily.

Sora took one more big gulp of air, and stood up straight. "Yeah, I'm fine mom. I just lost track of time at Riku's and then I realized I was going to be late so I ran all the way back." Sora had told her that weekend that he'd be going to Riku's every day after school for a while. He hadn't told her exactly why though. As far as she knew, Sora was going over there to work on a big project for school. He didn't want to tell his mother he was going to learn how to fight, as it would probably only cause her to worry more, and he didn't want to do that.

"Well you'd better learn to keep better track of the time. Now hurry up and lets go, I don't want to be any later than we have to!" And she walked out the door briskly to start the car. Sora walked out at a slightly slower pace, with his head hanging down. He really didn't want to go to this psychiatrist again. Especially not when his mind was so vulnerable what with his thoughts and confusion about Riku. But it was either see the doctor, or get sent off to some mental hospital, and frankly he'd rather have the psycho annoying doctor any day.

When they had found a good parking spot, Sora's mother bustled them into the too-white building, and took them straight to the room with a plaque on the door proudly displaying the name 'Dr. Ansem.' She pushed it open, and Sora walked in behind her, trying very hard to keep the grimace from his face. He really did not like this man.

"Ah, Sora. How nice to see you again."

Sora's mother smiled at the gentle and welcoming tone of the doctor. She patted Sora's head and took her place in a seat tucked into a nearby corner of the room, where she would overlook the session as she always did. Sora merely stared resentfully at the man that was so painfully obvious in his falsity. He only wondered why his mother never seemed to notice.

"You seem troubled Sora. Do you wish to talk about it?" Ansem asked, taking his seat in a large leather chair situated near his desk.

Well, nothing like getting down to business. Sora sat in his own usual spot on the futon style piece of furniture in front of the leather chair. He always refused to lie down though. He answered Ansem's question with a terse "No."

"I see. You do remember what the point of these sessions are, do you not?"

Sora's eyes narrowed further. "No, I seem to have forgotten. Why don't you remind me _sir?_." The sarcasm in his voice was nearly tangible. He flicked his gaze toward his mother, who looked as if she wished to say something, but held back because she knew she wasn't allowed to interfere.

Ansem sighed, and Sora was glad to see annoyance briefly flash through the unnaturally golden eyes before he schooled his features into a semblance of patience and caring once again. If he was going to be miserable, he was sure as hell going to bring this man down with him.

Ansem decided to humor the boy, ignoring his sarcasm. "I do believe it was because you allowed your imagination to take over your life. We are here to stop this nonsense so you can get back to your life as normal."

"It's not nonsense." Sora growled.

Ansem smirked as he crossed his right leg over his left, and leant back in his chair. "And therein lies the problem. So why don't we go back to when all of this started to see what prompted this behavior, hm?"

He looked so smug that all Sora really wanted to do was punch him in the face. "Nothing 'prompted' it at all. It was a dream I had. But then I've told you that before."

"And dreams are only a reflection of our subconscious. You told me there was a shadow in this dream. Perhaps you were having problems with someone in your life? Your family, or your friends?"

"This has nothing to do with any of them."

"Your loved ones seem to be a sensitive topic with you. Is there a reason why?" Sora didn't quite like that fact that he could hear genuine curiosity in that cold voice.

"Is it wrong to love?" he asked, but he wasn't actually looking for an answer.

Ansem chuckled. "I never suggested such a thing. You _do _have quite the imagination, don't you?"

"There are many things you imply which you don't suggest or state." Sora replied, deciding he was tired of this man's mind games. He had dealt with nothing but mind games for the past year, from this man and from strange shadow figures, and he figured it was about time he started applying what he'd learned.

A delicate eyebrow lifted. "Oh? Well that's the funny thing about speech and interpretation, isn't it? You may say one thing, and another may find a different meaning entirely."

Sora leaned forward in the chair, his elbows resting on his knees. "But something cannot be inferred which isn't there at all in the first place. For something to be found, it has to exist."

"Indeed." Ansem was becoming annoyed with his patient's sudden bravado. Something had to have happened recently…he'd never been like this before, always playing the perfect part of the unsure and weak-minded mental patient. "But misunderstanding has a definition for a reason. You of all people are familiar with this, correct?" He smirked to himself as the boy's cool demeanor faltered. Finally, he'd brought the conversation back to where he wanted it. He still had to be careful though, as the boy's mother was still sitting in the corner, brow furrowed and eyes darting back and forth to follow the conversation as one would watch a tennis match.

Sora paused for a moment, thinking over his words carefully. He felt he'd fallen into a dangerous game here, and even if he wasn't sure of what consequences came of loosing, he knew he had to tread carefully. "I suppose it depends on what you mean." He said slowly. "If you were to say that I have been misunderstood, then I believe you would be lying."

At Ansem's surprised face, Sora allowed a small smile to pull at the corner of his mouth. "Misunderstanding implies taking the wrong meaning or implication of something. In my case, people have just outright ignored me, or called me crazy and sent me here." He steadfastly ignored the slight gasp from the corner of the room. "That's not misunderstanding. That's blatant disregard, and a general lack of caring for me, or my thoughts."

There was a moment of near deafening silence after that. Sora waited with bated breath to see the man's response. Because he was, after all, supposed to be helping him get rid of such notions, as well as his 'imagined' world of shadows.

"I'm certain that's not true." The man replied, sitting back and resting his arms on the sides of his plush chair. "Don't you think if there was such a 'disregard' for your thoughts, then people wouldn't be paying you any attention at all? It seems to me it was an act of concern which brought you to me."

Sora paused again, biting his tongue against the urge to say 'An act of concern would have kept me far away from you…' and said instead, "I don't think other peoples' opinions of me are the topic we're supposed to be discussing here."

A smile spread across Ansem's face…a smile that sent a shiver of dread down Sora's spine. "Ah, but that is exactly the sort of topic we should be discussing, don't you think? After all, it is through others and their views that we fashion ourselves. And what _have_ other people had to say about this Sora? Those whose opinions matter to you, have _they_ been supportive to you at all?"

Sora fought to keep his cool 'I don't care' attitude on the surface, but the façade started to crack as he recalled his friends' faces at the lunch table, and the whispers around the school. His voice was only a little strained when he said "Don't you think that's prying, sir?"

Ah, so here was the boy's weak point. Ansem could have laughed. "Ah, but Sora, I'm a psychiatrist. It's my job to pry. I'm supposed to find your deepest fears, and help you deal with them. So tell me what's bothering you, my boy."

His tone was too friendly now. Sora didn't like it, not one bit. The image of Riku and Kairi's fight in the courtyard resurfaced in his mind.

When Sora said nothing, the doctor decided to continue. It was now or never after all. "What have they said about you, Sora?"

_People whispering in the hallways about the shadows he'd seen, skirting around him in wide circles as he passed._

"Has it affected any of your friendships at all?"

All of his usual lunch buddies, staring at him with wide-eyed curiosity, and a tinge of fear after Sora snapped at them.

"Have they supported you Sora?"

_Riku…Riku holding him while he cried in sheer terror of what had passed and what was to come. Riku tending to his wounds after an unexpected battle. Riku doing his very best to train Sora so that he could have a fighting chance. _

"Shut up." Sora said, so quiet he almost couldn't be heard. His head was bowed, and soft strands of brown shadowed his eyes.

"What was that?" Ansem asked, eyebrows risen to his hairline. "I don't believe I heard—"

"I said shut. Up." Sora cut across Ansem's sentence, pouring much more anger into his words this time. Mind games be damned, he was pissed. His head snapped upwards, and his crystal blue eyes practically threw sparks at the man who dared invoke his anger. The doctor wasn't quite sure what line he'd crossed, but it seems he had gotten to the boy. "I'm tired of your pretty words." He said, his lip curling upwards to show his obvious distaste of the man before him.

Feeling the energy of adrenaline begin pumping through his veins, Sora stood up and started to pace in front of his psychiatrist. "Every time I see you, you just sit there on your chair and spoon feed me sugar coated words of poorly covered ill-intent." His voice began to slowly rise in volume as he worked himself up. "I'm not sure how mother hasn't picked up on it, but I can tell you don't give a damn about me, my condition, my problems, or my life! All you do is test new words, and new topics, trying to see which one will get me to break, and I'm sick of it!"

"Sora!" His mother sounded as much surprised as appalled, but Sora ignored her.

"I won't apologize for telling the _truth_, mother."

Ansem stayed seated calmly in his chair, which irked Sora to no end. How dare the man look so calm when Sora was so angry! "And do you have someone to back you up on that, Sora?" he asked, quite composed as he followed the boy's movements with mirth-filled eyes.

Sora stopped for a moment, and leveled a glare on the man. His thoughts once again wandered to Riku, his soft, caring eyes and kind smile. "I'll always have someone to back me up." He said firmly. "Riku would never abandon me!"

Ansem's eyebrows lifted in curiosity. "Riku? A friend of yours?"

Sora silently cursed himself. "I don't think that's any of your business. In fact, nothing in my life is any of your business!" He turned on his heel and walked to the door. With his hand on the doorknob, he said over his shoulder, "Fuck you, Dr. Ansem. I won't be coming back." And he walked out, making sure to slam the door almost hard enough to break the little glass window centered in the wood.

- - - - - - --- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Just so you know, I screw around with the KH cast and events a lot in this story. I take people from both 1 and 2 and scatter them everywhere. I don't think the nobodies will be accounted for, but Xemnas, Xehanort, and Ansem all make an appearance. And obviously many familiar people are randomly placed as well. (Like Tidus, Selphie, and Yuffie being in their group. More people are introduced in chap. 5) Some events will collide with KH story lines, and some won't. It's all just a big jumble really.

And I find it kind of sad…all my begging went ignored. ::sniff:: I'm guessing either a) nobody cares, b) people saw it and ignored it, or c) nobody reads authors notes when they're at the beginning of the chapter. (stupid me, I should know better seeing as I don't…heh) Whatev. I know more people like this story so far than reviewed though, since I have more alerts listed than reviews. I suppose I won't beg anymore, just know that reviews encourage me to write and therefore get chapters out faster::smile::


	4. Kisses and Portals

Wheee, chapter four, for you. My only warning? This is the farthest I've ever written on a kissing scene. It's not much, really, but still. I hope I haven't done too terribly. ::smiles nervously and hopes I haven't gone overboard with the fluff factor.::

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Chapter 4: Kisses and Portals 

- - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - -

The ride back home was a tense one, as neither Sora nor his mother spoke a word. After Sora had stormed from Ansem's office, he had gone and waited outside the clinic. It was starting to rain then, and by the time his mother recovered from her shock, his clothes were beginning to sag under the extra weight of the water. With an unreadable glance in Sora's direction, she walked over to the car and unlocked it so they could get out of the rain.

Sora stared moodily out the window, watching the splashes outside when they'd drive through a puddle. The rhythmic glide of the wipers on the windshield was the only sound over the water pelting against the car, and Sora watched his mother's reflection in the glass with his peripheral vision.

With troubled eyes, Sora's mother opened her mouth as if she might say something, but as soon as she did so, Sora reached forward and turned on the radio. The station had a bit of static, and was playing some car commercial. Sora didn't seem to care as he crossed his arms and slumped back in his seat, resuming the activity of scenery watching.

Letting out her breath in a sigh, the woman turned back to the front with a slight frown on her face, her grip on the steering wheel just a little too tight.

Sora was sure he'd never had so many thoughts flying through his mind at once. Everything Dr. Ansem said kept running on a loop and try as he might to push them away, they refused to be ignored. He knew he should simply disregard everything that came from the man's mouth, but he found he couldn't. Thinking about his friends was just a bit depressing. He didn't want to think about how nobody would believe him, and he certainly didn't want to think about how much he really _did _care that they didn't. _He was just trying to get to me…just ignore it…_ The entire ride home was spent in an internal battle of wills of sorts, and it took his mother calling his name three times before he even realized they were in the driveway to their house.

Wordlessly Sora stepped out of the car, and trudged to the front door after his mom. As soon as they were inside, he walked over to the kitchen and sat down on one of the wooden chairs (as he didn't want to get the living room furniture wet), and waited for the inevitable confrontation.

"Sora" Said boy winced at the I'm-going-to-ask-you-nicely-but-I'm-still-demanding-answers tone that was somehow squeezed into that one word. "I'd like an explanation as to what happened back there."

Sora averted his eyes to a particularly uninteresting section of the linoleum floor. There was no use lying now, and he wasn't about to take back anything he'd said about his psychiatrist. "That man's a bastard, mom."

There was a slight gasp of surprise. "Sora! You shouldn't say such things." She admonished, wondering what had gotten into her son. "He was only trying to help."

Sora rolled his eyes to the ceiling, then focused them on her in a slightly narrowed gaze, to show he wasn't joking, nor could she convince him otherwise. "That man was doing nothing to help me. He was very fond of mind games, mother. Everything he said to me…it wasn't to help, most of the time I felt like some little experiment to him. Every thing I said to him was a long time in coming." He paused for a moment, reflecting on the first few sessions he'd had, where it seemed the man had genuinely cared for him. "It took me a bit to figure out what he was doing, you know."

Sora's mother pulled out a seat across from her son and sat down, but said nothing as she studied her boy. "For the most part it was pretty harmless, it just seemed like he was trying to figure out what 'makes me tick' or something. But today…he was out to hurt me mom." He brought his eyes up, and caught his mother's gaze, trying to get her to understand.

"Now Sora, I'm sure that's not true. It's like he said, he's a psychiatrist, so sometimes I'm sure it seemed he was being a bit more personal than he should. But it was only to help. I think you're just stressed honey. You should give him another chance."

Sora stood up so abruptly he knocked his chair back. His lips were pursed, and his knuckles white as he clenched his fists. "I will never go back to that man." He said with a dangerous edge to his voice. For the first time, she was actually the smallest bit afraid of her son, as she saw what others who didn't know him so well had probably been seeing for a while now. Then without another word, he turned on his heel and stomped out the front door without even telling her where he was going.

It was still raining hard, and Sora mused that he seemed to have gained a liking for dramatic exits. They were so much more fun than normal exits. He walked down the streets purposefully, and near ten minutes later had arrived at his destination. Slowly, he lifted a finger to ring the doorbell, and only had to wait a few moments before the annoying wooden barrier in front of him was opened.

Riku blinked in surprise at the sight of a thoroughly soaked Sora standing on his doorstep, looking quite lost. Not physically lost of course, or he wouldn't be here, but the expression in his eyes…and suddenly the 'soaked' part caught up with him and he immediately stepped to the side so Sora could enter. He didn't say anything, and neither did Sora, though he knew the younger boy could feel his curious stare at his back.

Sora nodded his thanks to Riku as he stepped inside, and walked to the living room, where he plopped down cross-legged onto the floor –he didn't want to get Riku's couch wet either. He crossed his arms, and sighed as he leaned back against the couch, closing his eyes.

Riku's brow furrowed as he watched the other boy, and wondered what had happened to cause this strange reaction. Deciding to tend to Sora's health first and ask questions later, he went into the kitchen, and set a kettle of water on the stove to start boiling. Then he walked to his bathroom, again glancing at Sora –who was watching his every move like a hawk, it seemed- as he passed through the living room. After grabbing a few towels from the cabinet, he went back into the living room.

Sora was shivering by this time from the air conditioning in the house, and Riku sighed, smiling slightly at his friend. He looked at the pile of towels, then to Sora, then to his room, and to the towels again. With a huff, he dropped one towel into Sora's lap, then turned around, and went to put the rest of them in the dryer. A whistle from the kitchen alerted him to the boiling water, and he walked back in there, grabbed a packet of hot cocoa, and poured it in a cup with some of the water. After stirring it and adding some marshmallows, he brought it to the den, and sat down in front of Sora, handing the boy the cocoa.

Sora smiled and took the drink, closing his eyes in delight as he took a sip. "Thanks Riku" he said, and Riku nodded, watching Sora closely. He hadn't expected to see his friend again so soon, but he definitely wasn't complaining. Now if only he knew why…but questioning could wait. They sat in silence for several minutes, each staring to the side and lost in their own thoughts.

Finally the buzzer of the dryer went off, and Riku jumped up, grabbing some sweatpants and a t-shirt from his room before getting the towels. With all of that done, he walked back to the still shivering boy, and dropped to his knees behind him. He removed the now wet towel from Sora's frame, and wrapped one of the heated ones, and then himself, around him from behind. He held Sora in a warm embrace, and rested his chin on the smaller shoulder. "You shouldn't just go gallivanting around in the rain like that, you know." He muttered.

Sora snorted in good humor. "I was not _gallivanting_ thank you very much. Besides, I like the rain."

Riku rolled his eyes. "Yes I know you do, but it's not quite warm enough to be outside in it yet, now here." He said and shoved the clothes into Sora's hands along with the other fluffy towel. Sora nodded his thanks, and walked into the bathroom to change, coming out soon after. Riku thought he couldn't have made a cuter picture.

The t-shirt reached to his mid-thighs, and the drawstring pants pooled at his feet, while his hair still dripped slightly, and a crooked grin made the outfit complete. Riku couldn't help the smile that spread across his face, and he motioned for Sora to come back to him. Once he was within arms reach, Riku pulled the boy down so that he was placed between Riku's legs, and he grabbed the other towel, roughly drying Sora's hair.

Sora whined about the 'attack' on his hair, and squirmed under the assault. Riku just grinned, and when he was satisfied with his work, he tossed the towel to the side, and attacked Sora's sides instead. Sora practically squealed, and tried to crawl away, but Riku would have none of it. He trapped the boy with his feet, and continued to dance his fingers along Sora's ribs, knowing it was the brunette's most vulnerable spot. Sora was laughing so hard now there were tears in his eyes.

"Al-Alright! Alright, I g-give!" Sora gasped, squirming as much as he could in hopes to get the boy to stop. Finally Riku decided to show some mercy, and stopped his relentless attack, instead wrapping his arms around Sora and pulling him close, so that Sora rested completely against his chest. He nuzzled the back of Sora's neck, smiling contentedly.

"Now that's my Sora." He murmured, his warm breath sending a shiver through Sora's body as it brushed the still cool skin. He paused for a bit, before deciding this was as good a time as any to ask about the boy's earlier behavior. "So, now that you're all dry and warm again, do you want to tell me what was bothering you so before?"

Sora was silent for a while, and Riku wasn't entirely sure he was going to get an answer. Then Sora sighed, and took a sip from his cocoa, before setting it to the side and leaning his head back on Riku's shoulder. Riku scooted them back so he could lean against the couch. "Dr. Ansem."

"What?"

"That's what was bothering me. I've told you about him once or twice before…he's my supposed psychiatrist. Mom won't believe me when I tell her he's never wanted to help me."

Riku's grip tightened ever so slightly. "What happened?"

"He was just…he just decided to point out everything that I am already quite well aware of. He overstepped his boundaries, so I got pissed and probably overreacted as usual."

Riku smiled, as he was quite familiar with Sora's 'overreactions'. "What did you do?"

"Not much really…he didn't seem to like it when I started throwing the fancy words he's so fond of back at him. Then he took it just a bit too far, so I got up, told him to fuck off, and slammed the door. I don't think mom quite knew how to react…" Sora smiled crookedly. "She's not used to seeing me angry."

Chuckling, Riku replied, "Sora, _no one_ is used to seeing you angry."

Sora sighed heavily, and slumped lower, averting his eyes to the ground. "But they're _getting_ used to it…" he muttered, thinking about his recent explosions at the lunch table. This whole situation was turning into such a mess.

"Oh, come on now…no one blames you." Riku lifted a hand to run gently through the almost-dry tufts of hair.

Sora couldn't help himself leaning just slightly into the touch, and his eyelids fluttered closed as the hand ran down the back of his neck. "Riku, stop lying to make me feel better."

"Lying?! Sora, you wound me!" Riku gasped in obviously fake theatrics, placing a hand over his heart.

Sora rolled his eyes. "Oh please," the tone was sarcastic, but it lost some of the bite as Riku's hands resumed their earlier movements, and began to gently massage his neck. "No one else has seen what you have. They all still believe I'm making all this stuff up." A soft moan escaped his lips, and Sora vaguely noted that Riku had been awfully affectionate today, and seemed to find almost any excuse to touch him; as this was the second massage he'd received. Not that he was complaining, it felt wonderful to be shown such care, and the gentle touches felt nothing short of adoration.

The hands moved lower, and Sora slouched forward involuntarily as the heel of Riku's hands massaged their way up his spine, and strong thumbs worked around his shoulder blades. "Well, whether for good or bad; after the events of the weekend, I have a feeling they won't be in the dark for long. Something's going to happen soon…"

Sora studied his nails for a moment as his hands splayed across the white carpet beneath them for support. "So you feel it too then?"

"You mean that feeling in the pit of your stomach that something bad is going to happen? The one that frustrates you because you know it's right but you can't tell when, where, or why this thing is going to happen?"

Sora nodded, eyelids drooping again as he dropped his head forward, allowing Riku's hands more room as they moved back up to his neck. "Yeah, that one…"

There was a slight pause, and then Riku said in a voice far too light for the situation, "Nope, no clue what you're talking about."

It took a couple of seconds for Riku's words to catch up with the fog trying to take over his mind, but when they did Sora huffed indignantly, twisting around and punching the boy playfully on the arm. "Riku!" he whined, glaring at the smirk set firmly on Riku's face. But he stopped as his eyes met with Riku's, and his breath caught in his throat without him even realizing it.

Riku's eyes were the stunning sea green they always were, glistening in the fading sunlight, and yet they were darker somehow. Sora was sure he'd never seen anyone look so…_intense_, before. He felt his mouth go dry, and swallowed heavily.

Riku felt as if he was suddenly trapped within that steady blue gaze which looked up so innocently at him. The entire world around him seemed to fade, and without being entirely aware of what he was doing, he started slowly leaning forward.

Sora, in response, felt himself turning around completely to face the older boy before he'd even given himself permission to do so. His heart fluttered in his chest as Riku stopped, only a few inches left separating them. The slightly uneven breath on his face was warm, and smelled faintly of mint.

Eyes searching the sapphire depths closely, Riku looked for any indication to what Sora might be thinking, or for any sign of rejection…or even disgust. He found no such thing, only a silent wonderment, and a mildly questioning gaze. And yet he warred with himself. He shouldn't…they were best friends, and this could ruin the close relationship they'd built for so long, wipe it all away in a split second. But if he didn't…he might spend forever pining over the boy, and regretting the fact that he'd never told Sora how he felt. He was saved from his argument, however, when he felt the soft press of trembling lips against his own.

Riku's eyes snapped open (when had he closed them?) and stared into the beautiful baby blues so close to his. Sora seemed hesitant, almost scared, and it occurred to Riku that the other boy had never kissed anyone before. And now…he was willingly giving that first kiss to _him_. Riku brought his hand up to rest softly against the flushed cheek of his best friend.

Stroking his thumb against the cheekbone, Riku allowed his eyes to flutter closed once more, and moved his lips against Sora's, opening slightly and closing again on his bottom lip, and tugged gently. Sora took in a shaky breath, and Riku couldn't help but find everything about him at the moment to be endlessly endearing. His inexperience was obvious, and Riku was determined to make this first kiss something to remember. He lifted his other hand and ran it once through Sora's surprisingly soft hair, before resting it on the back of his head and pulling him closer, allowing the kiss to deepen just a bit.

Sora couldn't quite believe this was happening. It was a moment of unusual resolve that allowed him to close those last few inches between him and Riku, and the sensations flooding him now were simply amazing. Slight nerves and a new sort of adrenaline caused him to shake ever so slightly, but Riku didn't seem to mind at all. In fact, he was sure Riku was being just about as gentle as he could possibly be. The lips moving against his was a strange feeling, but not an un-welcomed one. Slowly, tentatively, he began to respond. It was awkward at first, and he half expected Riku to pull back at any moment and tell him he was bored already, or that Sora was a terrible kisser.

But he didn't. When Sora felt something wet touch his cheek, his brow furrowed in confusion, and he pulled back just a bit, so that the kiss was broken but their lips still touched. It was then Riku opened his eyes, and they shone with tears as more ran down Riku's face, making forlorn tracks on his cheeks that clashed completely with the elated expression in his eyes.

"Riku…" Sora whispered, lips brushing against Riku's with each syllable. He lifted a hand, and wiped a fresh tear away with his thumb, bringing back an odd sense of déjà vu. He was going to ask what was wrong, but before he could say anything, Riku had crashed their lips back together, and put so much weight into the kiss that Sora was pushed back until he was lying on the floor, with Riku hovering over him. The only thing that managed to escape his mouth was an "Mrrmph", but the protest was quickly forgotten as Riku ran his tongue along the edge of Sora's lips.

Sora sighed, and opened his mouth, allowing Riku complete access. The warm, wet tongue pushed past his lips, and brushed along the inside of his teeth, causing a shiver to run down his spine as the kiss intensified. In response, Sora pushed his own tongue forward, lightly brushing against Riku's.

Riku groaned in approval as Sora's movements became bolder, and he slowly let his body drop until his full weight was being supported by the flushed body lying beneath him. He reached up and grabbed Sora's smaller hands, entwining their fingers and pulling them down so that their hands were even with Sora's head. Stroking Sora's tongue with his own, Riku pushed down gently, almost experimentally, with his hips.

Sora gasped and tossed his head back, breaking the kiss and staring wide eyed at the boy above him. "Riku…" his voice came out as nothing more than a breathy whisper

"Hn?" Only half of Riku's attention was focused on forming or understanding coherent sentences at the moment.

"What," He stopped and swallowed. "What are we doing?" Sora tilted his head to the side as Riku's lips moved to his jaw, laying feather light kisses all down his neck.

There was a pause before Riku decided to answer. "What does it look like we're doing?" he mumbled, trailing his tongue back up the path along Sora's throat. The action elicited a funny little mewl from Sora's mouth, and the boy wriggled his hips as the action sent a small jolt of pleasure straight through his body. Riku hissed through his teeth, and said, "I believe people usually call this 'kissing'." He emphasized his point by laying another kiss on Sora's waiting lips.

Sora half glared at Riku for his cheekiness in such a moment. "_Obviously._" He muttered.

"Do you want me to stop?"

Sora swallowed hard, and shut his eyes tight for a moment. "No…" He whispered, but then he caught himself and said frantically, "Er, I mean yes!" He sighed heavily, and averted his gaze to the side. "Riku…" What was he supposed to say? This was all so much, so soon.

In one smooth movement Riku pulled away from Sora, eliminating all contact between the two. His gaze was slightly unfocused, and he glanced down at Sora, watching as his erratic breathing gradually slowed to a normal pace, and his cheeks returned to his normal, paler shade, though not without lingering hints of a blush. As his own mind was able to calm down, and common sense returned to him, the full ramifications of his actions came crashing down on him. He'd gone too far. Surely Sora would hate him now! His eyes widened, and he stood up abruptly as a sudden need to do something –to move- washed over him. He paced a few steps, and stopped, placing his hands on the back of the couch and bent his head forward. "Sora I –" He suddenly felt as if he'd taken advantage of the boy now staring curiously at him. Sora walked into his house, soaking wet and obviously stressed, and what does Riku do?

"Riku…?"

"You should go." _It's for the best, right now_.

Sora's eyes widened at the sudden clipped tone. He finally starts to sort out his own feelings, and now Riku tells him to leave just like that? What was the kiss for then? Was it just some sort of experimentation for the older boy? A way to release a bit of pent up frustration? Sora cursed himself as his insecurities came crashing into him ten-fold. Riku was his one pillar of support, if he lost that now…he shook his head hard in an attempt to get rid of the depressing thoughts. He couldn't let his imagination run away with him now. Surely there was a perfectly reasonable explanation. Maybe Riku was just shy…? …Now that sounded ridiculous even in his own mind. A low rumble of thunder sounded in the distance; the rain had stopped for now, but a storm was coming. "But Riku, why –"

"Go, Sora!" Riku nearly shouted; his expression blocked by a curtain of silver. His fingers gripped the cushion of the couch so tightly his knuckles turned white as he restrained himself from walking back up to Sora and finishing what they'd barely even started. He was definitely going to need a shower after this…though hot or cold, he wasn't sure of yet.

Sora gasped in surprise and just a small amount of hurt. Riku had _never_ yelled at him before. Not like that. He slowly scooted away, crawling backwards on all fours. What could've possibly made Riku so upset over just a kiss? He decided he would talk to Riku about it tomorrow, once they'd both had a chance to cool down and think things through. But for now, he quickly scrambled to his feet, and all but ran to the front door.

Wrenching the knob with more force than was necessary, Sora bolted out the door and nearly slammed it like all the other doors he'd closed that day, suddenly angry at Riku's reaction to something that had felt so wonderful to Sora. Had Riku not been enjoying it just as much as himself? He ran down the sidewalks that would lead him back to his house, bare feet slapping against the wet pavement. He realized with a small amount of annoyance that he had left his clothes –and shoes- at Riku's house, and the pants he wore inhibited his ability to run properly as they fell over his feet.

He finally did make it back home, though, and was glad to finally step onto the soft, warm carpet of the living room. His mother quickly came bounding up to him with questions and exclamations of her worry. He fielded all the questions, stating that he was fine and would really just like to go to bed.

Hesitantly she let him go, all the questions left unasked burning in her curious and concerned gaze.

He trudged up the stairs to his room, and very quickly brushed his teeth, feeling the strain of the day really beginning to wear him down. As he crossed his room, he discarded the pants –as they'd gotten quite wet from dragging through puddles on his way home- but decided to keep the shirt on. After he collapsed onto his mattress, he pulled the shirt up just a bit and inhaled deeply, relishing Riku's scent, and allowing his mind to replay the perfect evening (before its disastrous end, of course), and was quickly lulled into a sleep filled with pleasant dreams of soft touches and loving green eyes.

- - - - - - - - -

The next morning Sora woke up to knocking at his bedroom door. "Sora? Sora, honey, it's time to get up, you don't want to be late for school!"

Sora groaned in annoyance and rolled over onto his stomach, but the knocking persisted. It couldn't be time to get up yet…his alarm hadn't gone off! Tiredly he raised a hand to rub his eyes, hoping the action might help force them open. When he finally did manage to pry his eyelids apart, he glanced at the clock, and immediately sat up, a bit disoriented as he stared around his room. That's right…he was so tired last night he must have forgotten to set his alarm. He glanced back at the door, and said loud enough so he could be heard through the wood, "Alright mom, I'm up."

Swinging his legs over the side of the bed, Sora stood up quickly, and began rummaging through his closet for something to wear. Unconsciously, he pulled out clothes just a little nicer than normal, including a pair of normal –yet stylish- jeans, a dark blue sleeveless shirt with a white, short sleeved, button down shirt to go over that one. He left the top half of the buttons undone, and finished off the outfit with a studded belt, and his silver crown necklace. He smiled in amusement as he surveyed the outfit in the mirror, realizing now it was because of what had happened last night. Shaking his head, he ran a brush quickly through his hair, and threw on some shoes before hopping down the stairs to a waiting breakfast.

"Mmm, smells good." He muttered happily as he plopped down into one of the wooden chairs at the kitchen table, stabbing at the eggs and sausage almost as soon as the plate was set in front of him. His mother smiled, and patted his head before taking her own place, eating her breakfast much more carefully.

"You seem happy today, Sora." She commented lightly, smiling at the expression in her son's eyes that she hadn't seen for a long time.

"Hm?" he looked up curiously, half of a sausage patty hanging out of his mouth. He quickly bit through it, and chewed the half already in his mouth. "Oh, yeah, I guess."

"So what happened last night after you ran off to bring about this attitude?" she asked with a smile that Sora swore was more knowing than it should have been.

He found himself blushing involuntarily, and shoved a forkful of eggs into his mouth, chewing slowly. "Nothing happened…am I not allowed to just be happy for no reason?" he asked defensively, jutting out his bottom lip into a pout in hopes that it would deter the woman from questioning any further.

She smiled at him, knowing there was more but decided she wouldn't push it for now. If he was happy, then that was all that mattered. But still she couldn't keep her mind from wondering, and she was almost positive he'd gone to Riku's last night, judging by the oversized clothes he came back with, and she wondered what exactly could've happened. But it was apparent Riku took care of him, so she wasn't worried. Sora would tell her if it was important enough. "Of course you are." She answered his question with a smile, to which the boy grinned, and stood up after he'd finished his food.

"Thanks for breakfast mom, but I gotta go now, don't wanna be late, see you later, bye!" he yelled all in a rush as he grabbed his backpack from beside the door and stepped out into the cool, but slightly humid morning air.

His pace was faster than normal, as he hadn't woken up quite as early as he was used to, and he walked into the building just as the first warning bell rang. Huffing a sigh of relief, he made his way to his first class of the day, his mind on lunch where he planned to confront the silver-haired enigma known as Riku.

- - - - - - - - - - -

Sora was bored. Bored, bored, bored. He drummed his fingers against his desktop, and glared at the clock on the wall, wishing with all his might the hands would move faster. Underneath the clock, the history teacher droned on about some war or another; frankly Sora couldn't really care less at the moment. Then _finally_ the bell rang, and Sora very nearly jumped from his seat, packing up his stuff quickly so he could get to the cafeteria early.

Sora walked straight to the group's usual circle table by the window, and plopped down facing the doors, pulling out his lunch and grabbing the juice. He left the food, as he was a bit too anxious to eat at the moment, which he silently chided himself for; it's not as if he hadn't seen Riku nearly every other day of his life! It was another couple of minutes before the cafeteria started to fill with students, and he was soon joined by Kairi, Yuffie, Selphie and Tidus. But there was no Riku. He half-heartedly smiled in greeting to his friends, to which he received a few hesitant greetings in response.

"Hey Sora, you alright?" Selphie asked after a few moments, when Sora's leg started bouncing nervously. "You seem a little…distracted."

"Hm?" His leg stopped moving, but he only turned his face towards the voice. "Oh, yeah, I'm fine." Then after a moment's pause, he tore his gaze from the door and asked, "Hey, have you guys seen Riku?"

Kairi blinked, and tilted her head to the side. "Riku? I think I saw him…but I don't have any classes with him before lunch, so I don't know."

"He was in first period today." Tidus piped up. "Why?"

Sora shook his head, hoping he wasn't being avoided. "No reason…I just need to talk to him."

Yuffie smirked slightly and said conspiratorially, "Lover's quarrel?"

Sora promptly sprayed his juice over the table in front of him, and Kairi thumped his back as he coughed. "What?" he finally spluttered, feeling a blush rising onto his cheeks.

Yuffie laughed outright. "Come on, Sora, I was only kidding!" She looked at Sora again and fell into a fit of giggles, joined by Selphie. Kairi watched Sora a bit suspiciously; he'd been teased about his close friendship with Riku before and never reacted like that.

"Did I miss something?"

Nearly everyone at the table jumped at the deep, and amused sounding voice, as everyone had been too distracted to notice Riku's approach. Tidus shook his head, looking just a bit confused. "I dunno…everyone just went crazy for a moment."

Selphie leaned toward Yuffie and whispered, "Riku and So-ra sitting in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g." Which caused the two of them to collapse into giggles again.

Riku, being much better at controlling himself than Sora, raised an eyebrow at this and turned to Sora. The brunette quickly shook his head (discreetly of course) in answer to Riku's unasked question. The older boy smirked and turned to Selphie. "Making up fantasy stories of mine and Sora's private lives, are you?" He pulled out the only available chair between Sora and Tidus, and smoothly sat down, dropping his backpack to the side.

The giggling quickly stopped. "Oh! Of course not!" Yuffie said far too innocently. "I only made a little joke. Sora's the one who overreacted." She explained with a grin.

Riku responded with a chuckle, and ruffled the boy's hair. "Yeah, well, that's Sora for you."

Sora pouted, and glared teasingly at everyone at the table.

"Where did a joke like that come from, anyway?" Riku asked, questioning the two girls and hoping Sora hadn't unwittingly said anything that might clue them in to…whatever it was that was currently happening between them.

Selphie was quick to answer. "He said he needed to talk to you."

With a quick glance to Sora, and trying unsuccessfully to read the expression in the blue eyes, Riku nodded. "Alright, as soon as I'm finished eating." And with that he stood up to go stand in line for some sad excuse for a tray of food the school liked to call a meal.

- - - - - - - - - -- - - - -

Lunch was normal. Which was weird.

Sora laughed at jokes his friends told, and listened to the latest gossip, and ate his food. He found himself smiling for no reason as he ate, content to listen to his friends, and get lost in this moment of complete normalcy that was just like all the times he'd eaten lunch at school before the problems started. Riku's leg rested lightly against his under the table, and he smiled at that too.

Funny how quickly things can change.

Sora was bringing a spoonful of jell-o to his mouth, and looked up to comment on something Selphie had just said, when he saw something outside the window through his peripheral vision. His eyes automatically flickered to the spot to identify what he had seen, and his spoon fell to the table with a loud clatter that quickly silenced those seated around him.

Sora was staring wide-eyed out the window, his breathing suddenly harsh, and to the people around him, he seemed to be gazing into another world.

"Sora…?" Riku asked, touching the boy's shoulder lightly.

Sora swallowed fearfully as he stared into golden eyes hidden beneath the hood of a dark cloak, visible even from this distance. Following the man in a protective semi-circle was practically a small army of shadow creatures. They were slowly making their way towards the school.

"Oh no…" Sora whispered, automatically reaching to clutch the hand at his shoulder. When their hands touched, he was pulled back to 'reality' and the noise of the cafeteria crashed into him like ocean waves onto the shore. "Riku!" he exclaimed in a frantic whisper. "They're here! He- he's here!" He stood up in such a panic that he knocked his chair over, and nearly tripped over it trying to get away.

"Sora, wait a sec!" Riku commanded, and, not quite caring if their friends assumed anything by it, tugged on their still joined hands. Sora, in his overbalanced state, fell back onto Riku's lap, and Riku quickly wrapped his arms around the near hyperventilating boy. Just calm down, and tell—"

"No, Riku, you don't understand! I can't calm down! He's here Riku, and he's brought so many…I can't let him attack the school! I have to- I have to go, lead him away, Riku let me go!" Sora squirmed desperately in Riku's firm grasp, not paying attention to the questioning stares being sent his way.

Tidus was the first out of the table's other occupants to speak. "So…anyone wanna let me in on what's going on here?" he asked, waving a hand vaguely towards the two boys. "What, exactly, is going to be attacking the school?"

The girls exchanged confused glances, but no one got a chance to reply as Riku suddenly yelped. "OUCH! Sora, what--?!" Sora leapt up and ran out of the cafeteria as if the hounds of hell were after him, and all eyes at the table turned to Riku. "He bit me…" The silver haired teen muttered slowly, staring in amazement at the teeth marks on his upper arm.

"Riku…what was that all about? I don't think I've ever seen Sora so panicked." Kairi wondered.

"He looked sort of like a trapped animal." Selphie added wonderingly.

"Yeah, and he bites like one too apparently." Tidus snorted in amusement.

Riku glared. "Shut up Tidus." He said absently. "Now if you'll excuse me, I've got to go find Sora before he gets himself killed. Shit, I haven't even taught him how to properly fight yet…" his voice trailed off as he moved farther from the table.

There was a moment of silence before Yuffie, who had been unusually quiet up to this point, announced, "Well, I don't know about you guys, but I'm going to go see what's going on." She stood up and followed the path Sora and Riku had taken moments before. The rest of the group soon followed.

- - - - - - - - - - -

As he trailed the path of bewildered glances and angry exclamations when people were shoved aside, Riku mused that he wished he could feel as calm and collected as he projected himself to be on the outside. Sora may not be as bold as Riku, but he was by no means a coward. Something had him scared, and from what he could gather from the boy's frightened ramblings, the shadow man was back…with reinforcements. But why would he be attacking the school? When he had said something was going to happen soon, he really hadn't expected it to be _this_ soon.

Picking up his pace to a jog, Riku pushed through a doorway that led to the west side of the school, and looked around for Sora. He spotted him a short distance away, seemingly staring at a parking lot for no reason, and started to move towards him, before he realized Sora had just turned around, and was sprinting back his way instead.

- - -- - - - -

_Why is it always at lunch?_ Sora wondered as he left the table with the part of his mind that wasn't focused on…on what? He was running straight at an army of shadows here, and had no plan of action, not even a weapon to aid him. All rational thought had left him for the moment, and so he found himself running blindly through the halls. His only plan right now was to hope that he could get the man away from the school. He burst through the side doors closest to where he had spotted the creepy man, and found him there as he'd predicted, just across the parking lot.

"Ho, you're braver than I gave you credit for, Sora." He said as Sora approached him.

Sora frowned in response. "Don't say my name, it sounds creepy coming from you." Great, apparently lack of rational thought made him do really stupid things. He was edging dangerously close to 'fight-or-flight' mode as his eyes flickered across the many empty yellow eyes watching him from bodies of shadow. He could almost feel their hunger to attack, and tear through flesh, and he shivered.

The only reply to his comment for a moment was a smirk before words were spoken. "I don't think this is the time to be debating names, _Sora._" Sora shuddered at the tone of voice. "You surprised me last time, but I won't be making the same mistake twice." He made a sweeping gesture towards the small army of shadows behind him. "Can you fight them all, young warrior?"

Sora's body moved into a defensive stance in a reflexive action, causing the man to laugh with surprise. "You do intend to fight! Marvelous!"

He seemed far too happy about that. "Why are you here?" Sora asked harshly, deciding to ignore the man's strange comments for now. "Why attack me at school? There are people here that could—"

"Exactly! Would you risk the safety of all these children by opposing me?" He chuckled and Sora was once again struck by how decidedly evil that sound was. He began to pace briskly in between his army and Sora, looking very much the part of the agitated and/or excited villain. "Far too long have I simply watched from afar. Your abilities are needed Sora, and I intend to make use of them now."

"My abilities?"

The man plowed on as if Sora hadn't spoken at all. "The darkness is at the height of its potential. Now is the time to take advantage of all that Ansem has lain bare for me! With you, Sora, I can control the very space we live in, and time itself! You are the key long before prophesized to open the way to greatness. And now it shall be my greatness you will fulfill!" He seemed to become more excited with every word he spoke, and finally turned to Sora with his arms spread wide. He grinned then, beneath his hood, and said in a much calmer voice, one that spoke promises of nothing good, "Now all that remains is to awaken your power."

Sora was allowed no time to question anything that had just been said, and it only just registered in his mind that Ansem had been mentioned. Then, before his eyes, the shadows that had been up until this point relatively still began to move. Shapes shifted, and forms became less defined. They all started merging together, growing in size to form a mass that towered over the two people, and even the very school itself.

Eyes widening in horror, Sora felt his jaw drop, and his breath leave him as he stared up at the behemoth now standing before him. It stood on two legs, but resembled an animal more than any human. Its chest and arms were covered in shining armor –a stark contrast to the rest of its body- and its great yellow eyes stared down at him, as large antennae on its head waved about. "Holy shit…" Sora whispered, momentarily stripped of the ability to move. That was until the great creature lifted its hand, and began to swing it downwards, as if to swat Sora into the ground. He gave a frightened yell, and his body suddenly went into overdrive. His toes dug into the ground as he turned, and sprinted as fast as he could the other way, hearing thundering footsteps behind him, and a laughter he was really beginning to hate.

- - - - - - - - -

"Something really odd is going on with those two." Tidus pointed out unnecessarily as the four that had been left at the lunch table made their way through the halls in pursuit of their two missing members.

Kairi leveled a glare on the blonde. "What was your first clue?" Tidus glared back until Selphie cleared her throat.

"Guys, I think you're missing the issue here."

"Yeah!" Yuffie piped up, resting her arm on Selphie's shoulder. "Besides, was it just me, or did it look like they really _were_ closer than normal?" She waggled her eyebrows suggestively, bringing everyone back to her earlier comment about a 'lovers quarrel.'

Kairi rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "Please, Riku was only holding Sora like that to keep him from rushing off—"

"Which he did anyway…" Tidus muttered, earning him another glare.

Yuffie giggled. "Yeah after Sora bit him. Kinky." Tidus looked the slightest bit appalled.

"It wasn't just that though." Selphie piped up, in answer to Kairi's comment, deciding to completely ignore Yuffie's weird fantasies. "Did you see the way they looked at each other during lunch? I don't think I've ever seen Riku look so fondly at anything or anyone before."

Kairi's brow furrowed. "But that…it's not possible! I mean sure they're close, but they're still just friends. I would know if they weren't…right?"

The rest of the group looked a bit sadly at the perplexed girl. It was Tidus who spoke what they were all thinking. "Kairi, how much have you guys really talked at all lately?"

There was a long pause, before Kairi sighed rather dejectedly. "I had an argument with Riku…he _was_ being pretty defensive about Sora. I didn't stop to consider it at the time, but that protective streak of his took me by surprise; it's never been directed at me before. Maybe something really has happened between them…" Her eyes widened slightly as a sudden realization struck her. "They've gotten closer to each other while drifting apart from me." With another great sigh, she ran a hand through her hair. "How did this happen?"

Selphie rested her hand on Kairi's shoulder. "A lot of unexplainable events have been happening lately. I think this thing with Sora has just got us all stressed out…"

"Which is _why_ we have to go see what's happening!" Yuffie reminded them all with her hands on her hips, as the group had stopped for a moment as they got caught up in their conversation. There was a general noise of consent and Yuffie led them the rest of the way out the same doors as had been used twice before them.

She burst through the double doorway with a determined expression, and they were all quite unprepared for her scream.

- - - - - - - - -

"Sora, what—?"

"RUN!" Sora gasped out as he approached him. Sora reached out to him, and he couldn't quite tell if he was trying to shoo Riku away, or reach out to grab him. He didn't have time to figure it out. Riku was just turning around to run with Sora and hopefully find out what was happening, when the smaller boy was suddenly slammed to the ground beside him.

Even running as fast as he could, the shadow monster had the advantage of size, and his massive strides could cover a lot more ground in a lot less time than Sora's much shorter legs. All the air was pushed from his lungs as he was trapped under the creature's grasp.

Riku took a second to panic. "Sora! Are you o…k…?" he trailed off as a large, black claw became visible pressing Sora into the ground. Slowly more was revealed…an armor-clad arm, and at the shoulder spread to reveal the head, the chest and finally the legs, of the largest creature he'd ever seen.

He paled slightly, and was momentarily at a loss for what to do. Then he heard a scream off to his right. His head snapped toward the sound, and he saw Yuffie standing in the doorway to the school with the rest of the group behind her, who all had similar reactions. Of course, they hadn't seen the shadows before. But he didn't have time to do anything about them, as that scream had kicked Riku's brain into gear. He berated himself for freezing up like that when Sora was in danger.

Reaching into his deep pocket, Riku searched for a moment and pulled out a handy pocketknife he was quite fond of carrying, as it had been a gift from his father. He flipped the blade, and spun around, stabbing it into the monster's forearm, dragging it down to do as much damage as possible.

With a great roar, the thing reared back, and Riku took the moment to help Sora. He rushed over to the fallen boy, and turned him over, gathering him into his arms.

Sora coughed, and gasped in air gratefully. His bright blue eyes snapped open, and he searched Riku's expression, finding reflected in those eyes what he knew was in his own. "We can't beat this thing…" he whispered after a moment, watching warily as it took its attention off of them to mend the gash it its arm. "There's no way, it's too big."

"Don't talk like that." Riku admonished. "You sound like you're giving up, and you know I won't allow you to do that, especially when we've only just begun."

"So what do you propose we do, Riku?!" He all but shouted, desperation lacing his voice. The others were cautiously approaching them by this point, and were probably within hearing range, but he paid them no mind. "This isn't like that thing we fought at your house. You don't even have a weapon this time! What are you planning to do, poke it to death?!"

"Goddamn it Sora, stop that!" He shouted, causing the other four to halt immediately, and Sora to be shocked out of his sudden near panic attack. "I'm not sure how I intend for us to fight it, but sitting here arguing about the hopelessness of the situation will get us nowhere!" Sora was shaking, he could feel it from his hold on the boy. "Come on Sora, get up." He commanded softly but firmly, standing and helping to pull him to his feet.

"He really wasn't kidding…" Tidus whispered, backing away slowly from the creature that was starting to recover from its surprise at being injured.

"Oh my God…" Kairi muttered in equal amazement. And what had Sora said, 'like the one at your house?' They had fought something like this before? How long had Riku been so involved?

Then Yuffie commented a deadpan voice, "Yeah I have to agree with Sora on this one, we're all gonna die."

Riku sent his deadliest glare in her direction. Sora seemed to only just realize they were there. He suddenly jumped from Riku's grasp, and whirled around to face the rest of his friends. "What are you guys doing out here?! You have to run away while you can!"

They all started to provide answers and protests at once, but Sora didn't catch any of the excuses or comments as his attention was drawn to the side.

The world suddenly seemed to move in slow motion as he watched the monster recover from Riku's attack, and rear back with a mighty roar, pulling back its arm to swing at them all. His eyes went wide with fear. It would kill them all if that hand connected! And suddenly the only thought in his mind was protecting his friends. He looked over to Riku, and saw the taller boy was looking in the same direction with true fear in his eyes for the first time.

_No_, Sora thought as he felt an energy swirl around him. _I can't let it end like this…_ All the energy seemed to coalesce in his hand, until he found he was gripping something, an unfamiliar weight now settled in his hand like it was simply supposed to be there. _I can't let it hurt them! _He took no time to consider what had just happened, and leapt forward, reacting entirely on a strange instinct he had never been aware of before.

There was a near blinding flash of light, and real time snapped back into place. Energy crackled in the air and there was a resounding boom as the hand collided with the air just above the small group of students.

It was then chaos erupted.

There was a scream from the distance, followed by many more as students became aware of the creature's presence as they headed to their next class. Some ran like mad in the opposite direction, while many began to gather at the far edges of the field, the mortal sense of morbid curiosity getting the better of them.

Riku's attention never left Sora's form after he removed his arm from where it had been shielding his eyes, and he stared in amazement as the previously terrified boy now held up what looked to be a very large key against the monsters hand, a shield of energy flickering into view occasionally as he pushed back against the force of its weight. With one great cry of determination, Sora swung the key forward with all the force he could muster.

The shadow-demon-thing was pushed back, and Sora tumbled backwards, rolling head over heels a couple of times before coming to a stop, lying on his back. Riku immediately rushed to him, followed by the others of their group. Sora grunted and pushed himself up, rubbing the back of his head with a wince.

"Sora, are you alright?" Kairi asked frantically, while the other three around her looked just as concerned.

"Yeah, yeah I'm alright." He muttered, allowing Riku to pull him up.

"Sora…what is that?" Riku asked, looking towards the large key gripped tightly in the boy's hand.

Sora looked at it as well, and brought it up before his eyes as if to examine it. He opened his mouth to speak, but before he could, there was a slow clapping from behind the great beast. The entire group whirled around at the noise. Selphie yelped and jumped behind Tidus, while the other two girls moved closer together.

"Well _done_, Sora! Well done!" He stepped around the large monster, placing a hand against its leg as one would to restrain a growling dog.

Riku stepped half in front of Sora defensively without even realizing he was doing so. Sora moved forward so that he was beside Riku again, and slipped his hand into Riku's larger one. Riku squeezed gently in assurance, and Sora straightened his posture to what he hoped was a more confident stance. "Just stop messing around with me and get to your point already, would you?" he said irritably to the man who looked far too smug for his own good.

The man laughed at this. "Yes of course, Sora and his ever-shortening temper. Do tell me how your friends have taken to this, won't you?"

Yuffie huffed indignantly, and glared at the man, placing her hands on her hips. "Now listen here, you! Just because Sora's had a shorter temper doesn't mean we'd stop being his friends!"

"Alas, they speak!" the man replied jovially. "And yet I do not believe I ever mentioned anything about not being his friends." He took a few steps closer to Yuffie and the others behind her. "You implied this all on your own."

"Leave them alone!" Sora shouted suddenly, and he stepped away from Riku, holding out his new weapon in a threatening stance towards the man.

With a simple chuckle, the robed figure turned, resting his hand almost lovingly on the weapon currently pointed at his heart. "And what are you going to do about it, young warrior?" He smirked, and ran his hand smoothly up the length of the blade. "You do not even know what it is you hold, do you?"

His hand was stopped just before it reached the hilt, as Riku grabbed his wrist in a death grip and twisted it backwards. "Filthy hands off." He muttered angrily, nearly growling at the man.

Sora looked at him in slight surprise, and he lowered his arm, chancing a glance at the rest of his friends who looked as if they had no idea what they should be doing at the moment.

"Ho, and isn't this the pot calling the kettle black!" he said with a decidedly wicked grin.

Sora frowned. "Our personal lives are no business of yours. Now stop playing around!"

"Why Sora, do you wish for me to simply kill everyone now and be on my way?" he asked, rubbing his wrist after it was released from Riku's grip.

Sora glared in return. "No, I _wish_ for you to leave and never come back."

"Hn, if only life were that simple, yes? However I cannot do that. For you, Sora, hold in your hand exactly what it is I need to achieve the power I desire."

Sora looked curiously down at the almost forgotten weapon in his hand. "You need a big key?" A sudden anger and frustration washed over him, and in a split-second decision, he yelled, "If you want this stupid thing so bad, then just take the damned thing and leave us alone!" and he chucked the blade at the man, who dodged easily.

"Sora!" Riku shouted in surprise. "What are you doing?! You don't just go throwing your only means of defense where you can't reach it!"

"Well he said that was what he wanted!"

"So you just give it to him?! Sora, the man's evil! What makes you think he won't take the blade, and then kill us all before taking off with it!"

"It's a giant. Fucking. Key, Riku! And it's not like he doesn't have that shadow monstrosity…" he waved his hand in the general direction of the waiting creature "…to finish us off any time he wanted!"

The shadowed man stepped back towards the other four friends with a satisfied smirk. "Ah, such tension. Wonderful isn't it?" he practically cooed.

Kairi gasped, as she was the closest to him. "You did that on purpose?"

A low chuckle was the reply. "Hardly, they started that all on their own, but it was incredibly easy to get them going."

"Just what is it you want here?" Tidus asked, speaking up for the first time.

"My, my, you children are all just obsessed with getting answers aren't you? No matter, what I do here is between Sora and myself. You needn't involve yourselves with the young warrior's affairs."

"If it involves Sora then it involves all of us." Yuffie said firmly, stepping forward in a fighting stance. She always was the eccentric one of the group.

"No, Yuffie!" Sora cried, tuning in to what was going on outside of his and Riku's argument. "You guys should get out of here, don't make this your business now!" He flung his hand sideways to emphasize his point, and was surprised when he felt that same energy from before gather in his hand, and the key once again appeared in his grip.

Sora's eyes immediately found Riku's, who looked just as surprised, and just a little bit impressed. He couldn't resist a small smirk and saying, "There, see? No worries."

Riku's expression turned into a deadpan glare, and Sora very nearly giggled. But he didn't, because boys don't giggle, and of course there were enemies around.

"Don't look so confident Sora." Shadow-man said slowly, stepping forward with a malicious glint in his golden eyes. "Just because you can call the Keyblade, does not give you the knowledge to wield it properly."

Sora looked down at the weapon in his hand curiously. "Keyblade…?" So that's what it was called. "And what exactly is the importance of this thing?" He asked, swinging it carelessly in front of him.

The man reached up to rub the bridge of his nose, as if to ward off a headache. "What do keys do, Sora?"

Sora raised an eyebrow curiously, and his answer was a skeptical question. "They unlock things?"

"Yes."

"So…you want me to unlock things?"

A heavy sigh was the answer. "Enough of this. Your stall time is up." And with a simple gesture, the colossus of a shadow stepped forward again.

"Is he bi-polar, or what?" Riku muttered as he and Sora stepped back slowly, warily watching for sudden movements from the large creature.

"I'm beginning to wonder." Sora replied, mind working quickly to try to figure a way out of his imminent doom. "I suppose it's time to put your lessons to good use, huh?" He gave the Keyblade a solid swing. "And see what this thing can do."

"I assume you've got some sort of plan, then?"

"Yeah…you distract Mr. Creepy, and I'll get the big guy."

Riku sent him a worried glance. "Sora…"

"Hey, do you have any better ideas?" Sora snapped just a bit testily, and immediately regretted it at Riku's expression.

Riku stepped closer to Sora, and lightly grasped the smaller boy's hand. "You better not get hurt Sora." His tone was harsh, but Sora could hear the underlying waver that belied his worry. He had long since learned to see past any front Riku put forth, and he gave Riku's hand a gentle squeeze.

"Promise you won't push me away again and I might promise you that." He said lightly with a wink.

"What?" Riku turned sharply, wondering if he'd heard the boy right, but Sora had already dashed forward, a determined expression set on his face and his weapon poised to strike. With a quick silent good luck wish for Sora, Riku turned his attention to the shadow ringleader whose attention was otherwise taken by Sora's attack. "Hey!" he shouted in warning, effectively bringing the man's attention to himself.

Unable to resist the moment, Riku lifted his hand, palm up, and flicked his fingers toward himself in the cliché sign for 'bring it on.'

Lifting an eyebrow, the man did not respond to the obvious bait, but said instead, "Sorry to disappoint you boy, but I do believe my business here is done." He snapped his fingers, and yelled off to the side. "Take him!"

Sora had been doing all right up until that time. At least he thought so when taking into account the fact he was fighting something ten times his size. As the giant shadow creature had reached for him, he jumped onto its wrist, and ran up the arm in order to be able to strike the head. But he only managed a few ineffectual strikes before a hand came up faster than he could dodge.

Large, cold fingers wrapped around him tighter than necessary, and he gasped as the creature lifted him easily.

The man snapped his fingers again, and the very air behind them seemed to tear. A massive black portal opened up, and Sora stared wide-eyed. This situation just became a lot more real and a lot more threatening as he realized what was happening. He heard screaming in the distance, and was vaguely aware that it came from the direction his friends were standing. "Riku!" he shouted, staring helplessly, and hoping on some level that the other boy might be able to miraculously save him.

"Sora!" Riku growled and turned back to the unnamed shadow-man. "Unhand him!"

With a wave of his hand, tendrils of shadows reached from the ground, and began wrapping themselves around Riku's ankles. "Hey, what—" Struggling was quickly proved useless as Riku lost his balance and fell backwards.

Sora tried to fight the creature's grip, but it was too tight, and they were rapidly approaching the portal teeming with black energies. In a last desperate attempt at possible salvation, Sora stared purposefully at Riku and shouted, "Ansem!" as he was being pulled through, hoping that Riku would remember, as he had no time to say anything else.

Struggling and shouting, Sora was pulled through the portal into God only knows where.

"Soraaaa!" Riku shouted and began fighting the formless shadows clutching him violently. He tore them apart with simply his hands, and lunged towards the now smiling man who was beginning to retreat as well. "Give him back!"

"Too late, boy." He replied, and leapt backwards, the black cloak flowing almost elegantly as he disappeared into the shadows after the monster that took Sora. Riku skidded into the ground as the portal disappeared, and he clutched the grass tightly in his fingers, dropping his forehead to the ground.

There was absolute silence for a moment, before Kairi stepped forward, and kneeled beside Riku. "Where…what just…"

Riku cut off her ramblings before a full sentence could even be formed. "Damn that man. Damn him to hell!" he cried as he sat up, and Kairi was amazed to see tears forming behind Riku's eyes. "I will kill him if it's the last thing I do." He stated to the world, and stood up, walking away without giving even a second glance to the rest of his friends.

Kairi, Tidus, Selphie and Yuffie all exchanged bewildered glances.

"Did that…did that really just happen?" Tidus asked in a quiet voice. Silence was the only response.

"We need to talk to Riku…I want to know where Sora's gone." Kairi stated, and received nods from the rest of the group.

Riku, meanwhile, walked back towards his house, mouth set in a determined line. Sora was gone. The very event he had feared the most had passed. But Riku was _going_ to get him back. And that's a promise.

- - - - - - - - -

And there you have it. Finally getting to the 'Action/Adventure' part of the story. This is also the last chapter I have written ahead. (Chapter five is only about half written…I've got ten pages on it at the moment.) So the speed of the update partly depends on you guys now.

Anyway, thank you to those of you who have reviewed. 'Tis much appreciated!


	5. You're kidding, right?

My god I'm a terrible author…So so so sorry for the delay in this update. See…after about 11 pages written, I was able to download Ragnarok again…and thus got very sidetracked by that game. Then I managed to lose my flashdrive for a good few weeks. But now I have found it again! And am back again writing. So thanks to those of you who have decided to stick with me, and I'll try to be better from now on!

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

**Chapter 5: You're Kidding…Right?**

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

Going through the portal, Sora mused, felt very much like traveling through a wall of water. Or maybe haunted water, as passing through it sent chills up and down his spine. He had given up struggling against the iron grip that held him in place, as doing such only made the monstrosity holding him tighten its grip.

They arrived in a grand, circular room that looked to Sora as if it belonged in some medieval castle. There was a large staircase spiraling around each side that led to a higher platform on the far side of the room, where a huge carving was set in the wall that seemed to be an ornately decorated heart.

The man's voice echoed off the acoustic chamber when he spoke. "Welcome, Sora, to Hollow Bastion!" He made a sweeping gesture around the room, as if he was welcoming Sora as a guest to his home. It wasn't very brightly lit, and Sora was almost sure he saw eyes glowing from random spots in the darkness. Though he could never quite tell for sure, because every time he blinked they were gone or in a different spot. It was very unnerving actually.

With a commanding snap of the man's fingers, the large shadow creature began to morph, once again forming the army of smaller shadows it had been before. But it never once relinquished its grip on Sora, and when the change was complete he was being held in place by many smaller cold, clawed hands. He struggled weakly, at the same time asking, "Hollow Bastion?"

"I'm sure you will come to appreciate this place with time." He said carelessly, correctly reading the fear and apprehension in Sora's bright blue eyes. "But in the mean time…bind him." He ordered to the shadows, and Sora yelped as he was suddenly being dragged backwards.

"W-wait a minute. What are you going to do to me?" the brunette asked nervously, fiercely fighting the many stronger hands dragging him up the stairs and towards the platform in front of the heart engraving. As they reached the top of the stairs, Sora realized that the platform was adorned by a mirror image of the heart on the wall, and as soon as his feet touched it the lines began to glow. Sora gasped as the light spread, and caused the design on the heart to glow as well, shining a multitude of brilliant colors. It would have been beautiful if Sora hadn't been so scared at the moment.

And then chains shot forth from the wall, wrapping tight around Sora's wrists and ankles, pulling him from the ground and suspending him in the air directly in front of the center of the heart. "Hey!" he yelled, half in fright and half in sudden anger. "What's going on? What are you doing?" He really didn't like the looks the shadow creatures were giving him. Both smaller and larger surrounded him below, staring up with hungry yellow eyes, looking as if they wished nothing more than to simply eat him.

"Holding you there is as much for your safety as it is for my benefit, Sora. You see…it's been a long time since a heart as pure, and as powerful as yours has graced their presence. They're hungry Sora."

Sora gulped as he stared down at the shadows again, and then at the man standing at the center of the room speaking to him. "A heart as pure…they want to eat my heart?" he asked, looking suitably disgusted.

"It is the only thing a heartless desires."

"A…heartless?"

"Yes, and you might as well become acquainted, as this is to be your…family, from now on."

Sora's eyebrows rose in a sort of incredulous expression. "Family? But you're not gonna…I mean they're not…what the hell are you planning?" Sora asked, a bit of his bravado coming back in the nerve-induced adrenaline rush. Or maybe it was a hysterical shock setting in.

"Nothing you'll have to worry about for long. You see…it's as I've told you before, I need your heart, and the time has come to take my prize." He walked over to a strange sort of panel that Sora hadn't noticed before. It looked to be a cross between some sort of ancient magic, and beyond modern technology. How that was possible he wasn't sure, but the thought quickly left his mind as the man started pressing buttons, tracing patterns, and other things Sora didn't care to notice.

"If you've wanted this –my heart or whatever- for so long, then why did you wait? Wouldn't it have been easier to just take me by surprise that first time a year ago when I was defenseless and unsuspecting?" He was only half stalling for time with the question, as he really was curious about the answer.

"Perhaps, but at that time I wouldn't have been able to return with you, thus making any sort of attack a moot point." He never once looked up from the panel now lit up by many different colored lights. Then suddenly there was a whirring sound, and Sora tugged against the chains as he felt a strange energy swirling around him. It felt like he was slowly being drained; like something was tugging at him from the inside.

Sora wanted to ask why, ask what was different now that the attack worked, but was too distracted by the tingling beginning to spread through his entire body. This…magic?…that seemed to be pulling against his mind was creating a buzzing in his head that was starting to give him a headache.

But suddenly his attention was pulled outward again as there was a loud crash from outside the grand ancient doors on the other side of the room. This was soon followed by an almost intelligible sound that sounded like a lot of angry quacking in a way. He was barely able to make out the words "Don't let it get away!"

Then a clearer voice followed, though the accent was strange. "I'm on it!" the voice shouted, followed by another crashing sound, and more angry quacking.

Sora raised an eyebrow at the strange interruption that seemed very out of place for the situation. Creepy-shadow-man turned suddenly, making a sound of irritation, and turned to walk towards the door. But before he took two steps, the large doors flew open, and in stumbled the strangest two beings Sora had ever seen. From what he could tell, they looked like a duck and a dog…but humanoid in some way. Well, they were wearing clothes at least.

They ran in chasing another one of the shadow creatures –heartless he recalled- and he was suddenly hopeful these guys might be on his side. The duck came through first, waving a small staff wildly, and random bolts of lighting came from nowhere around the shadow. He was still yelling a bunch of unintelligible noise. Following him was the dog-man, wielding nothing but a shield, stumbling in trying to shake some sort of rope or chord from around his left foot.

Sora snorted with laughter despite his current predicament. He couldn't help it, that entrance was worthy of a comedy show in a circus. The noise, however, alerted the two new faces to his presence, and suddenly everyone froze, and it felt for a moment as if time itself had stopped.

"Donald, Donald!" The dog-man suddenly shouted to the duck, forgetting about the chord around his foot and pointing wildly toward Sora as he jumped up and down excitedly. "It's him! He's here!"

"Wha-?" The duck now identified as Donald stared closely at him. His eyes widened in surprise, then narrowed suspiciously. "How do we know for sure…?" he muttered.

Sora's vision started to blur as his energy was continuously drained from him, and he renewed his struggle against the steel chains holding him in place. He spoke at the same time shadow-man decided enough was enough.

"Um…a little help here?"

"You two! What are you doing here?"

And time was normal again. "Goofy, get the boy!" Donald shouted as he ran straight towards Sora's main enemy at the moment.

_Goofy? What an odd name…_ Sora thought absentmindedly. He was beginning to feel as if he'd been drugged. He felt a bead of sweat run down the side of his face, and he screwed his eyes shut, pulling harder at the bonds. He barely noted the pain as his wrists and ankles were cut into, and started to wonder if this was where he was going to die. The world around him slid in and out of focus, and the last thing he saw was the dog-man named goofy spinning wildly through the shadows at his feet, knocking them away with his shield before all sight was lost to unconsciousness.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Back at Destiny High, right after Sora had been pulled through the portal, the scene was chaotic. Some were still running around screaming, some were standing with mouths wide open in disbelief, and some had even fainted. It took the teachers a full half hour to get everybody calm enough again to get into the auditorium for an emergency assembly.

None of Sora's group joined it. With Kairi in the lead, they decided that the school day was ruined now, and went to find Riku. They knew nothing useful would be said in the assembly anyway. Most likely the principal would attempt to make excuses for what had happened, and tell them not to worry, that they would look into the 'events' as they were like to be called. There was no way they would be able to explain to the satisfaction of the students though. After all, they had just been attacked by a giant shadow monster! At least nobody could call Sora delusional now.

"So what do you think that thing was?" Yuffie asked conversationally as they walked away from the school grounds, where you couldn't even tell anything had happened except for trodden grass in the shape of giant footprints.

"Creepy, that's what." Selphie said with a shiver, wrapping her arms around her middle protectively.

"I'd call it a demon if I had to give it a name." Kairi replied, "But I'm more concerned with that strange man that was with it. You know, the one that actually talked?" She gave herself a little credit for not sounding _too_ sarcastic with that statement.

"Yeah, he definitely looked like a schemer." Tidus added.

Kairi rolled her eyes and decided not to respond. It didn't matter though, as they'd reached Riku's house by this point. The others were silent as she reached up and knocked firmly on the door.

No answer.

She knocked again, a bit louder this time. And again there was no answer. Sighing she decided to test the doorknob, and was surprised to find it unlocked. With a quick glance to the three behind her –who all nodded their encouragement- she pushed the door open.

They weren't quite prepared for the sight they walked in on. Selphie gasped and brought her hands to her mouth as she caught sight of the glass that littered the far side of the living room. The shards glinted in the sunlight that streamed in through the open doorway. Behind the couch and near the shattered doors, there were small bloodstains. And right in the center of the living room was Riku. He sat on the couch with his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands. His shoulders were shaking, and no one knew quite what to do. Even Yuffie was quiet.

Kairi was the first to break out of the shock, and she walked slowly towards the boy on the couch. "Riku…?" she whispered uncertainly. She perched on the armrest and rested her hand lightly on Riku's back.

"What are you guys doing here?" he snapped harshly, though his hands muffled the effect.

Yuffie stepped forward with her hands on her hips and a glare set on Riku. "Just because you miss your boyfriend is no reason to yell at us!" she said determinedly.

Riku's head snapped up and he returned her glare with a stunned look of his own. "Boyfriend?" His eyes were red and his hair was mussed where his hands had clutched it before.

"Well yeah, you are, aren't you?" Yuffie asked looking far too confident.

Slowly Riku shook his head. "I couldn't call him my boyfriend, but…I'd be lying if I said there wasn't something…" He felt Kairi's hand leave his back, and silently wondered if he'd offended her.

Yuffie nodded. "Yes, I thought you seemed a little upset for losing just a friend."

There was silence for a moment before Riku turned an icy gaze towards the girl. "_Just_ a friend? You don't seem that worried. Does Sora mean that little to you? I should think that, after something like what happened today happens, that you would be at least a little worried for even _just_ a friend."

"Of course I am!" Yuffie countered with a surprised gasp at the accusation. "Sora's like a best friend to all of us! If I wasn't concerned about him, I would be at home enjoying the interruption of school instead of coming here to get some answers."

"And what sort of _answers_ do you expect me to have?" he said somewhat defensively, realizing that yelling at his own –and especially Sora's- friends would get him nowhere.

"Well how about what happened to your doors, for starters?" Tidus suggested, waving a hand towards the shattered glass.

Riku lifted his head to look at the indicated spot. "Huh…I should get that cleaned up and fixed before my parents come back." He muttered.

"Hey, where are your parents, anyway?" Selphie wondered as she took note of the much too silent house.

Riku made a vague gesture with his hand. "They're out on a second honeymoon or something. Said they'd be gone for a couple weeks. Didn't I mention that?"

Kairi tilted her head in thought. "No, I don't think you did."

Tidus cleared his throat in annoyance. "The doors?"

"Oh, right." Riku sighed and ran a hand through his hair, smoothing out the silver strands. "That happened on Friday, when Sora came over."

Selphie raised an eyebrow. "You broke the doors?"

"We were attacked."

Kairi gasped, and everyone moved around to take a seat on the couch and armchair for the story. Riku rolled his eyes, feeling very much like a kindergarten storyteller. "It was nothing like the one that came to the school today. Well, the man was there, but the creature that attacked us was smaller…about the size of any of us, actually." His eyes traveled over the floor and landed on a small bloodstain; he immediately averted his gaze. "Apparently it was ordered to attack me, but Sora jumped in the way. He fought the thing, and I grabbed a sword from the back and tossed it at the creature. It just so happened they were in front of the glass doors. I still need to get that sword from the backyard actually…it's my favorite one."

"So that's why Sora looked so…out of it yesterday."

"Yeah…thing damn near killed him. I'd never seen Sora look so scared in my life." He shuddered at remembering the look that had been in Sora' eyes. "I've got to find him…"

"Do you have any idea where they could've gone?" Selphie asked tentatively. "I mean…they disappeared through some black portal. That's not exactly a normal mode of transportation."

Riku sighed and dropped his head into his hands again. "I haven't a single clue. That man left the same way that night; he wanted Sora to go with him somewhere. And I'm starting to think that this 'somewhere' is in another world entirely."

"Another world?" Kairi asked only a little doubtfully.

"If you've got a better suggestion I'd love to hear it."

"Riku, don't be difficult."

The silver-haired teen stood abruptly, and began pacing in front of the couch. "I'm not trying to be difficult…I just—" He cut himself off with another heavy sigh. "I'm just trying to figure out what I can do."

Yuffie tapped a finger to her chin in thought. "What was it that Sora yelled just before they all disappeared?"

"'Ansem', wasn't it?" Selphie answered after a short pause.

Suddenly Riku's eyes widened. "Ansem…" he whispered. He smacked his hand to his forehead. "I'm so stupid! He was looking right at me when he said that. I've got to…I gotta go" he mumbled haltingly.

"What? Riku, wait!" Kairi called. "Where are you going?"

"To Sora's house."

Tidus lifted his eyebrows curiously. "I'm pretty sure Sora didn't just go home."

Riku answered with a deadpan stare. "Duh. I need to talk to his mother."

"Oh my…she doesn't know, does she?" Kairi whispered.

"Nope…and it's gonna suck having to tell her. But I need some information and I know she can give it to me."

"And what are we supposed to do?" Yuffie asked.

Riku thought for a moment. "I dunno…go do some damage control at the school or something." And without another word he left.

There was quite a pause after Riku's exit, before Selphie spoke. "Damage control…?"

Kairi glared at the door. "He expects us to explain everything that happened to the school? No way, I don't think so. If we explain things he's coming with us."

Selphie giggled a bit at that. "I don't know…he looked pretty determined with his own agenda. You think he knows something?"

Kairi shrugged, turning her gaze back to the people around her. "Probably. Whatever it is, it's got something to do with this Ansem person."

Tidus shifted in his seat. "I think we should wait until Riku's calmed down a bit, and maybe ask him about it tomorrow." Every head turned and gave him a strange look. "What?" he asked a bit nervously.

"Someone write this down, Tidus actually said something useful!" Yuffie exclaimed suddenly.

"Hey!"

The other girls giggled, and Kairi nodded. "I agree. Riku can be pretty bull-headed when he gets something into his mind." She turned to the other two girls in the room. "Hey, you guys wanna stay over tonight?"

"Ooh, can I come?" All three girls turned a glare on Tidus. "Er…right then. I'll just…be going. Call me if you find anything out!" He quickly took his leave, and left the others laughing at his expense.

Kairi stood up, and with one last glance at the shattered doors, gestured for the other girls to follow her. "Come on, we can talk more at my house." They were quick to agree, and Riku's house was soon empty once again.

- - - - - - - - - - -

Sora woke slowly and yawned widely, brining his hands up to rub his eyes. He felt oddly refreshed, and it took a couple of minutes before he remembered why he shouldn't be feeling that way. With a startled gasp, he sat up straight, and looked fearfully around him. He saw the two from Hollow Bastion –Donald and Goofy if he remembered right- as well as some people he'd never seen before. One was a tall, rather frightening looking man with long brown hair, gray eyes, an almost all leather outfit and a scar across his nose.

The other was a kindly looking young woman with a red and pink dress, her light brown hair tied back in a braid that reached her lower back. "Where am I?" he asked softly, unconsciously edging towards the wall behind him. They had been talking amongst themselves, but now they focused on him.

"You're awake!" The woman said needlessly and smiled. "How do you feel?"

Sora watched her warily. "I'm…fine. Who are you?"

"Oh, forgive me. My name is Aerith." She pointed to the man standing with his arms folded over his chest. "This here is Squall."

"Leon." The man grunted.

Aerith laughed. "Right, Leon. And these two are Donald and Goofy."

Goofy grinned and waved enthusiastically. Sora waved hesitantly back.

"You're sure this is him?" Leon asked, turning to Donald and Goofy.

Donald nodded. "Absolutely. Xemnas had him."

"Xemnas…is that the man who's been after me all this time?" Sora asked, momentarily forgetting his fears in the wake of getting answers. Aerith nodded, and he decided to voice his next question. "Why?"

There was a silent exchange of meaningful looks among the odd group before Leon stepped forward. "What do you know about the Keyblade?" he asked, gray eyes boring into Sora's own blue ones.

"Keyblade…oh! Right, that's what that guy –Xemnas- called that thing…" He was speaking more to himself than the people around him, much to their amusement. He concentrated on that energy signature again, and called the blade to his hand. "I…don't know anything about this thing." He admitted hesitantly. Looking up hopefully, he continued speaking, "That Xemnas guy told me that just because I can call the Keyblade…doesn't mean I can wield it. What does he mean by that?" And then as an afterthought he added, "What happened to him anyway? How did I get here and why am I not dead?"

Aerith laughed lightly. "Try to stick to one topic if you're going to throw out a barrage of questions, won't you?"

Sora blushed and smiled sheepishly. "Sorry."

"We saved ya!" Goofy piped up.

Sora's attention was drawn to the first two friendly faces he'd seen in this place, and the thought briefly passed his mind to ask '_What are you?' _But he thought better of it, realizing it would probably come off rather rude. "Well, thanks…I guess, but…what exactly did you save me _from_? I mean, what was he going to do to me?"

"I'm afraid we can't answer that for sure…" Aerith answered sadly. "Donald and Goofy told us what they saw, but we don't really know what, exactly, he was trying to accomplish."

"Was he going to take my heart…?" Sora whispered, and all eyes turned to look at him in sudden surprise. He flinched and scooted back just a bit further. "What?" The word came out a bit harsher than he'd intended.

"Did he tell you that's what he was doing?" Sora thought Leon really should smile more…because that man was scary.

"Um…no, he just told me –well, has been for a year actually- that he wants my heart. And something about the powers I have too…"

Leon turned to Aerith. "We need to speak to King Mickey. He might know more about the situation than us."

"King?" Sora asked, but his question was either unheard, or ignored.

"Do you think he'll know what Xemnas was up to?" Aerith replied.

"The king always knows!" Goofy answered faithfully.

"But Goofy…" Donald whined. "We promised the king we could handle this ourselves!"

"Yeah, but, we didn't know Xemnas or the Keyblade's Chosen would be here!" Goofy indicated Sora with a wild swing of his arm.

"My name is Sora." The teen said with narrowed eyes. He was starting to really dislike this Keyblade business. Not that he hadn't before, of course, but now all he really wanted was to go back home.

Donald looked as if he was about to say something, but didn't get a chance, as there came a sudden barking and scratching at the door. All heads turned curiously towards the sound, and Aerith walked over to open it.

A very energetic dog came bounding into the room, and ran straight to Donald and Goofy, wagging its tail excitedly as it offered a letter in its mouth. "Pluto? What's he doin' here?" Goofy asked in surprise while Donald took the letter.

After a short silence, where everyone stared expectantly at the duck, Donald sighed and patted the dog on the head, whispering a quick 'thanks' as it bounded away. "Looks like we can't rely on the king for this one."

"Did something happen?" Aerith asked worriedly.

Donald shook his head, glancing at the letter once more. "No, but apparently he has some important business to attend to in Twilight Town. He's taken Merlin with him, but he didn't say what for, or why he's going."

"Twilight Town?" Leon muttered. "That's really far from here. I wonder what sort of business had him leaving so suddenly?"

Sora watched with half interest as the strange people speculated about why their king had things to do. He quickly lost all interest, and turned to examining the Keyblade in his hands. It was a solid looking weapon, if not an odd one, and he wondered why this thing was so important. Xemnas had mentioned unlocking things, but what on earth sort of door would need a key this big…and magical? And he had determined that it was magical, since it could be called at will, and had created some sort of barrier in front of him when he'd used it against the monster earlier that day.

Keeping a wary eye on the other occupants of the room, Sora turned until his feet touched the floor, and got off the bed to look around the room. The decorations displayed a primary theme of green, but were otherwise uninteresting. He passed the door labeled 'Red Room' and took a peek out a different door. This one led to a large hallway. If he had to guess he would say they were in a hotel of some sort.

Sora heard his name mentioned behind him, and turned around to listen back in to the conversation.

"What do we do about Sora then?" Aerith asked, sounding truly concerned.

"We'll have to protect him until King Mickey gets back." Leon answered.

"But Leon, we've got other duties to attend to; we can't possibly take care of him."

"Which is why Donald and Goofy would be the ones to watch him."

"Or…" Sora stepped in, joining the circle, "You could just return me to my home and we can all just pretend this never happened. Sounds like that solves everyone's problems to me."

Leon gave Sora a calculating glance, at which the younger brunette shivered. Leon could be quite intimidating after all. "It would solve many problems…but not the largest one."

"Which is…?" Sora prompted after Leon didn't continue.

"Which is the fact that we need the Keyblade Master here, and Xemnas stopped."

"Okay…why?" Sora silently berated himself. There he went again with that bad habit of being sarcastic in the face of his own unease.

"Sora…" Aerith stepped forward, and Sora wasn't quite sure he liked the patronizing tone of her voice. "I know this may be a lot to so suddenly ask of you…but we need your help."

Sora's brow furrowed in a mix of emotions ranging from confusion to annoyance. Aerith seemed like a very nice woman, and for some odd reason he was reminded of his mother when he saw her, probably because of her nature. "What do you think I could possibly do?" he asked skeptically. The only training he'd had on fighting was one lesson with Riku, and an impromptu fight against a giant shadow…which he lost.

Aerith's gaze turned slightly sad, and she turned to Leon, who raised an eyebrow back. Sora looked back and forth between them, trying to figure out their silent conversation. Finally Leon sighed heavily and took a seat on a bench near the bed. "Sora…it's not what you can do…but what you have to do."

Sora's eyebrows rose at the rather presumptuous statement. "Have to?"

If Leon noticed Sora's irritated tone, he made no mention of it. "It was seen long before your arrival here. He told us of the Keyblade Master; the only one that can fight the darkness. We don't know exactly what Xemnas has planned, but we do know that you are supposedly the only one that can stop him."

Sora felt he was handling this rather well, considering. There was a long moment's silence, until Sora suddenly stood up, and walked to the door that led to the hallway before wrenching it open. "I can't do this." He muttered as he walked out and slammed the door behind him.

"…Tactful as always, Squall." Aerith accused with a glare at the man.

"Leon."

"Sora!" Goofy shouted suddenly, and ran towards the door after the young Keyblade wielder. Everyone stared after him in slight surprised, and Donald rolled his eyes towards the ceiling as if in a silent prayer.

"Here we go…" he mumbled as he too went after Sora.

Sora had no idea where he was going. He had run down the hallway, and outside of the building he had now affirmed was a hotel. After flinging open the large doors, he was met with a very unfamiliar city, which of course only added to his growing trepidation. He took off in a random direction, feeling a sudden threat of tears behind his eyes. He kept hoping he would wake up, and find that this had all been some horrible dream.

As he turned a corner into a back alley, Sora was immediately forced to a stop, and actually skidded across the brick walkway before his shoes found traction again. Seemingly out of thin air, another creature formed before him. It seemed to be made of nothing but armor, and its hands, feet and head were detached from its torso. Immediately Sora knew he should run, as he got that same chill whenever the shadows were near him. The same heart-shaped design from Hollow Bastion was engraved in its chest. "Give up, Sora." It whispered, and took a step towards him.

Sora gasped, and turned around, nearly tripping as he tried turned to run away, back out into the open courtyard-like area near the alley.

"Sora!" Goofy yelled from the ledge above, and Sora thought that might just be his new favorite voice.

"Goofy! Help!" He shouted back, running towards the dog, while Donald ran towards him from the other side. Goofy's eyes widened as the heartless came into view, and he immediately vaulted over the brick ledge to the ground below…where he landed wrong and went tumbling headfirst into a bench. Sora winced at the crash, but Goofy got up as if nothing had happened. Donald was soon to follow but his landing was a bit more graceful.

Sora ran over to the two before facing the heartless again. The Keyblade appeared in his hand once more even though he was quite sure he hadn't called it.

_It's not what you can do…but what you have to do._

The brunette was fast realizing that Leon's words were, unfortunately, very true. Nothing had quite settled in his mind yet, as it all seemed so surreal. But being faced with yet another thing out to kill him was starting to drill into his head that…this was in fact very real. '_It's not a dream…'_ he thought miserably to himself. '_But how can I fight it…I don't know what I'm doing…'_ He was watching with wide, not quite focused eyes as Donald and Goofy relentlessly attacked the intruder.

A sudden feeling of helplessness washed over him, and he suddenly wished that Riku were there with him. The taller teen was never lacking in encouraging words, or bold bravado. He could almost hear Riku's voice in his mind, a teasing smirk on his face as he told Sora what a coward he was being. Riku wouldn't let him fall into a hopeless despair…no; this was exactly what he had been trying to prevent. Riku had taught him to fight, and for this very reason. So why was he just standing here while Goofy and Donald saved him _again_? The Keyblade seemed to vibrate with pent up magical energy, as if agreeing with him, and so with a sudden burst of courage Sora wasn't aware he was capable of, he leapt towards his newest enemy, striking a hard blow across its chest.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Riku took a deep breath as he stood in front of the door to Sora's home. He was not looking forward to this at all; he really liked Sora's mother, and knew she was going to be devastated to find her son was missing through some inter-dimensional portal.

Gathering up his courage and collecting his thoughts, Riku raised one hand and knocked thrice on the door. It immediately swung open with such force that he took a half step in surprise. Sora's mother stood on the other side, and Riku couldn't tell if her expression was happily surprised or anxiously disappointed…as it seemed to be an odd combination of both. "Riku dear…please come in." she muttered distractedly and motioned for him to enter as she walked into the living room. Immediately Riku was able to see the reason for her odd behavior.

The TV was on in the living room, and on it he could see his own school. His eyes widened as he watched the speech the principle was giving to the school. "How the hell did the news crews get there so fast…?" he muttered, in his mind likening the media to disaster like moths to a flame.

"Riku, please tell me what happened. Where's my Sora? Your principle has only mentioned something about an attack. I…I need to know…is Sora okay?" She sounded on the verge of tears…or a panic attack, neither of which Riku could handle in his own frazzled state.

He bit his lip, and turned his head in the other direction. "I don't know." He muttered honestly, hands clenching on the back of the couch. He heard the woman gasp, as she fell into the couch with her hand over her heart. "Sora's been…kidnapped, I guess."

"You guess?" Her tone wasn't accusing, but it definitely had an edge to it. Riku winced as he realized he was now dealing with a mother's instinctual concern of her child.

"Well, captured might be a better word…tell me about Ansem." He changed the topic quickly in hopes of surprising the woman into not panicking. It seemed to work.

Blinking in surprise, Sora's mother turned and regarded Riku curiously. "Ansem…you mean Sora's psychiatrist?"

Riku had to fight not to let any emotion show as he remembered Sora's opinion of the man. "Yes, him. I…where can I find him?"

"What do you need to find him for?" she asked, sounding genuinely confused. "Does he know where my baby is?"

Riku closed his eyes at her tone, and sighed deeply. "I'm not sure. I…I need to talk to him. Can you tell me where I might find him?"

The paused for a second, as if trying to figure out how Ansem had anything to do with the current situation. "Well I-yeah, I can take you to his office. I think he should be there at this time." She muttered distractedly and looked at the clock, which read 5:30.

Riku was a bit hesitant to respond, and studied her carefully. Should she be informed of everything that was going on? He didn't want to give the poor woman a heart attack. No, for now he would just have her take him to Ansem, and go from there. His only concern at the moment was getting Sora back. Riku nodded in response. "That would be great, thanks."

So without further pause, she stood up and grabbed her keys, beckoning Riku to follow her as she walked out to her car. The trip to the clinic was a bit awkward, as neither really knew what to say in such a situation. After half the trip in silence, Sora's mom spoke up. "So why do you need to speak with Ansem?"

Riku sighed and rested his forehead against the glass of the car window. "I just…need to ask him some things about Sora. To see if he has any idea about…what happened today."

She didn't seem satisfied with the answer, but noticed Riku's reluctance to talk about it, and decided not to push it. Riku was, after all, a very hard person to get information from if he didn't feel like divulging any. Shortly after, they arrived at the clinic, and Riku stepped out of the car with a very distinct feeling of nervous trepidation. He was suddenly overcome with the feeling that he didn't _want_ to find out what was going on. But then an image of Sora's smiling face came to mind, and he sighed heavily. _For Sora…_ he thought as he stepped up and pushed through the clinic's doors.

As Riku walked up to the receptionist's desk, the girl behind it looked up and immediately blushed upon spotting Riku. He stopped himself from rolling his eyes as he stepped forward and asked gruffly, "Where's Ansem?" He heard the bell of the front doors behind him, and guessed Sora's mom had caught up.

"Ansem…?" the receptionist asked absently, making no sign that she had actually heard what Riku said as she smoothed imaginary wrinkles in her shirt.

Riku was not in the mood to be patient. His eye twitched once before he slammed his hand down on the desk, effectively startling both the girl in front of him, and everyone else in the room. "God damn it girl, stop ogling me and do your job, will you?! Now where is Ansem!" The last bit was near shouted, and the girl looked sufficiently frightened. He didn't care at the moment. It had been one hell of a stressful day, and he wasn't expecting things to get better.

With a hand over her heart, and a look of half fear, half annoyance on her face, the receptionist pointed down a hallway to the left. "His office is down there…fifth door on the right."

Riku found with amusement that her expression looked as if she expected him to attack her at any moment. As he turned away, he threw a sardonic smirk and mock salute over his shoulder. Sora's mother glanced uncertainly between the receptionist and Riku, before hurrying to follow her son's best friend.

…_3…4…5_. Riku stopped as he found the right door, and narrowed his eyes as he saw the golden nameplate bearing the office's owner's name. It was making him antsy, not knowing what to expect on the other side of this thin piece of wood, as he was very much used to being in control of his life. He wondered how much Ansem knew, or how much help the man would be to him. Would he be able to help him at all? His hand rested on the doorknob, and he took a deep breath before swinging the door open, allowing it to slam against the inside wall. The two occupants of the room jumped, and Riku prided himself on another dramatic entrance. It always helped to have the element of surprise and intimidation when looking for answers.

"Wh-who are you?" asked a woman looking to be in her late twenties. She held a tissue in her hand, and was sitting in the chair across from the large desk that made up the centerpiece of the room. It seemed she was a patient of Ansem's. Riku only spared her a quick glance before focusing on the seemingly nonplussed man behind the desk.

He looked almost bored in fact, golden eyes gleaming in the low lighting. "Can I help you?" he asked, his tone perfected into a sort of sultry baritone meant to put people at ease.

Riku narrowed his eyes, and felt his lip curl slightly as he took a good look at the man Sora hated so much. This man was the reason Sora had come to him that night so distressed, and now he had the gall to address him so casually? In one swift movement Riku was behind the desk, and he clutched the front of Ansem's suit. He had swept forward with such force that the man's chair rolled back into the wall behind him.

There were twin gasps from the women in the room, but Ansem merely raised his eyebrows, almost looking as if he had asked Riku to come in and slam him against the wall. This of course irritated Riku to no end. "What did you do to him?" He growled, pressing his fist against the man's throat. "I know you know something, now where is Sora?" After a slight pause, he yelled, "Tell me!"

"Sora? You mean the delightful young boy who's been coming to see me?" It was hard to tell whether he was being sarcastic or not.

Riku's eyes narrowed further. "Don't dare play me for a fool." He muttered dangerously, and Ansem raised his eyebrows.

"Hm, you must be Riku then."

Riku's grip slackened a bit in surprise. "You…know who I am?"

"Your name came up in one of our sessions; Sora seems to think highly of you." He paused, and Riku wasn't quite sure what to make of the man's tone. "I wonder what sweet little Sora would say if he knew it was because of your incompetence that he is now gone."

Now Riku let his grip fall completely, and he stepped back with a look of uneasy suspicion in his eyes. "What do you mean…because of me?"

"Fate is a very funny thing, Riku. Sometimes it is your friend, and at others…your very worst enemy."

Riku blinked and furrowed his brow. They had just been talking about Sora…why now then, were they suddenly in a conversation about fate?

"As young Sora's protector, it should have been you that saved him from the tragic events of earlier today." Before he could continue, Riku interrupted.

"Protector? So what, you're saying I'm supposed to be some guardian angel or something?" Was this guy for real? Riku found himself wondering more and more the longer the man spoke. "In case you haven't noticed…this is real life, not some fairy tale."

A smirk crossed the man's face as he regarded Riku with an expression that suggested he was far superior to anyone around him. "And what do you know of real life child? Tell me…how do you explain the presence of the shadow? No, this is no fairy tale. This," he gestured with a sweeping motion of his arm. "Is reality. There is far more than you know stretched beyond the walls of this world you seclude yourself in. And you will never find Sora if you continue to see through such blinded eyes."

His expression was serious again, and Riku was lost for words. The golden gaze held him, and Riku held his breath as if waiting; waiting for something to happen but not knowing what to expect. Finally, he managed to put together a few words in the confusion in his mind. "What of fate, then?" he asked, wondering why it had been brought up in the first place.

"The ties that bind us all are strung by fate." The doubt and suspicion was obvious in Riku's eyes, and so he decided to answer the question before it was even asked. "We may control our own destinies, but it is fate that guides us in the directions we choose."

Sora's words from that day –it seemed so long ago now- entered his mind. '_He didn't seem to like it when I started throwing the fancy words he's so fond of back at him.' _He had to agree with Sora about the man's 'fondness for fancy words'. But how much was real? The way Sora spoke of this man, it seemed nothing he said should be trusted. And yet…he knew about the shadow. From what he said…he might know what happened to Sora.

Ansem watched on with a calm indifference as the boy in front of him seemed to war with himself. "You wish to help Sora, yes?" he asked calmly, resting his chin on folded hands. Immediately Riku's eyes locked on his, and Ansem took this as an obvious yes. "I can help, you know. I know how to cross the shadows; shadows you could not see without a guide."

Riku felt his breaths shorten as the situation began to weigh on him. Should he trust this man? But then again, he was the only way he had of getting to Sora. He knew what was going on, and it sounded like he knew where Sora was. But could he be trusted? How many of his words were truth, and how many lies? He shut his eyes tight, and fisted his hands at his sides. It was going against all better judgment, and all his instincts…but he had to do it. _For Sora…_he thought again to himself, and once more looked up at the collected man in front of him. "You promise you'll take me to Sora?"

A slow smile spread across Ansem's face, and Riku wasn't quite sure he liked the glint in the man's eyes. "I do. But tell me Riku, are you willing to do whatever it takes to get him back?"

"_Promise you won't push me away again…" _

Riku took a deep breath, and stood up straight. _No, never again._ He thought determinedly to himself, and in a rare show of selfless bravery, he nodded. "I am."

And with two words was his fate thus sealed.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

A/N: Boy was this chapter hard to write, aside from the issues about finding my flashdrive of course. (And once again I apologize for the ridiculous delay in updating!) Well I sort of broke my chain of each chapter being longer than the next…this one only just reached the 18th page. But I really liked the way that line sounded as an ending. ::grins:: I really hope this chapter is up to par, and please tell me if you see anything that should be fixed, or if the story at any time seems to flow wrong or something. In other words, tell me what you thought! (I'll keep in mind any suggestions for future chapters too. And before you comment, no I didn't forget about the two other women in the room…they're just not important at the moment.)

This chapter is where everything is set into place for the rest of the story, which is why it was so hard to write. I had to make sure everything was set up the way I needed it to be. ::sigh:: Okay, I'm don rambling, and I'll try not to take so long again. But don't expect super speedy updates either, since classes start on Monday.

Oh and I have a feeling that last line was highly influenced by Final Fantasy XII. I've been playing that game a lot lately, and most of the dialogue/narration is like that. You know, like, old English style and fancy wording and stuff.


	6. A Battle Worth Fighting

Yay, look, it's a chapter! Much love to the few of you that actually reviewed for taking the time to do so. Much appreciated. And I guess this is just going to be one of those stories that I take forever to update…I blame school! And other fanfiction of course…I can hardly pull myself from reading long enough to actually write anything…so very sorry for the update times, but as long as people continue to show interest in this story, I will get it finished.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Chapter 6: A Battle Worth Fighting 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The battle didn't last too terribly long, and Sora was quite proud of himself for a battle well fought against the thing that attacked him out of nowhere. Sure he was fighting with two others who were obviously much more experienced fighters, but still he felt he deserved some credit. He had, after all, landed the finishing blow that incapacitated the monster once and for all.

Sora leapt back quickly, watching as the newest creature began to shudder, and twitch awkwardly as if it lost control of its limbs. Then, all at once, every detached piece simply fell lifeless to the ground, and seemed to disintegrate into the air. There was a long moment of silence, as all waited to make sure it was truly gone. When nothing appeared, Sora sighed deeply, letting his stance relax. He may be an energetic person, but he definitely wasn't used to the amount of energy required to fight such battles.

Before he could rest completely though, Sora felt the now somewhat familiar energy swirling around his hand. It traveled through the blade before moving to flow through his body as well. Gasping at the sensation of such power, Sora had no choice but to do what the very magic itself seemed to be asking him to do. He raised the blade, and pointed it to the fountain sitting straight in front of him. Then the whole world around him seemed to fade away, but for some reason Sora felt no need to be frightened. He felt comforted by this energy, and closed his eyes as a strong wind picked up from nowhere. He felt more than saw the beam of energy that shot from the tip of the Keyblade.

When he opened his eyes again, he was back in the city, staring at a large…keyhole, in the back of the fountain. Blinking in surprise, Sora turned to Donald and Goofy, who were both staring slightly wide-eyed at the newly appeared door to who-knows-where. Before anyone could say a thing, quick footsteps were heard heading in their direction.

"Sora!" Aerith shouted as they approached, sounding worried. "Are you alright? We felt this huge wave of energy…" She trailed off as she noticed Sora's very perplexed expression, and the keyhole now in the fountain. "Oh." She finally said, seemingly not inclined to say anything else as she looked to Leon.

The brunette man sent a calculating look in Sora's direction, and the boy defiantly stared back, hoping someone might now explain what had just happened. He was already tired of wondering and not knowing what was going on. After half a minute of the staring contest, Leon nodded once and broke the gaze. "It would seem it has begun." He claimed softly to the city, staring at the faintly glowing keyhole.

Sora didn't know Leon well, but he felt those words sounded strange coming from the man's mouth. He didn't look like the type that would start speaking in riddles or storybook style tones. Leon and Aerith made their way down into the courtyard where Sora, Donald and Goofy were. Since it seemed no explanation of events was forthcoming, he decided to fish for one by simply asking. "Xemnas mentioned something about unlocking things. Is that…what just happened?"

The atmosphere suddenly seemed tense, as the group looked worried by the mention of the shadow puppeteer. It was Leon again who spoke. "The Keyblade holds great power…including the power to unlock gateways in between worlds." He said no more, but he didn't need to for Sora to understand.

"So I've just opened a wormhole?" he asked with raised eyebrows.

A small smirk touched Leon's lips, and he nodded. "Essentially, yes. These paths were closed long ago by King Mickey himself after a similar shadow infestation. However that one was unorganized. It was merely a mass of wandering heartless searching for more to make their own. Unfortunately that is why we are unsure of everything going on this time. If we knew what Xemnas was after…"

"You know who he is but not what he wants?" Sora asked, sitting down on the pavement and setting the Keyblade beside him. "Aren't bad guys supposed to be notorious for spilling out their life stories and ambitions to their enemies or something?"

Aerith laughed at this. "If only that were the case, I'm sure things would be much easier."

Sora sighed heavily, and lay back until he was sprawled over the bricks of the courtyard. "This sucks…" he muttered, staring up at the starry sky. If he didn't think about the city around him, he could almost pretend he was back home; it looked like the same sky. That was when it suddenly hit him to ask, "Where am I?"

Everyone seemed to have forgotten he hadn't been told this information. It was Donald who spoke up this time. "We're in Traverse Town."

"Traverse Town…" Sora repeated softly, wishing the name were more familiar on his tongue. Then he looked over at the keyhole, and furrowed his brow. "And there?" he asked. "Where does it lead?"

Unsure glances were exchanged, and Aerith answered, "We don't know."

Another sigh escaped Sora's lips. "Any chance it could lead back home…?" he asked, not even daring to hope for a yes.

He was surprised when Goofy answered. "All worlds are connected, Sora."

Eyes widening, Sora suddenly sat up and stared at Goofy as if seeing him for the first time. "So you mean it really could?"

Goofy scratched the back of his head, and suddenly looked unsure. "Well if that one doesn't…I'm sure one would eventually."

Sora took a moment to revel in the realization that it might not be impossible to get back home after all before speaking again. "But you don't want me to go home." He stated, directing it not at Goofy, but at the entire group. It was Leon, after all, who had said it in the first place.

Aerith smiled sadly and walked over to Sora, kneeling down in front of him. "It's not that we don't want you to go home, just that we need your help here. I would love to be able to send you back home, and not have you get involved, but…you already are, aren't you? I'm afraid that this entire situation is over any of our heads. Please understand Sora, there are many lives –many worlds even- at stake here. None of us know what Xemnas is planning, but we do know that he has an affinity for power, and control. He loves for people to be under his command, and with the heartless gathered under his control…well, I'm afraid of what he could do."

"And I'm the only one that can fight him?" Sora asked more than a little bit skeptically. "Why? I'm nothing special. I'm sure you guys are better fighters than me…so why not choose someone –anyone- else?" He was definitely still having trouble getting over this fact.

A small smile flitted over Aerith's face, and she placed a hand over Sora's heart. "Because of what's in here."

Sora blinked, and looked around at the other three, who nodded in agreement. Leon spoke up again when Sora's gaze landed on him. "The Keyblade always chooses its master, and it always chooses the one with the strongest heart. Believe it or not Sora, it chose you."

Aerith stepped back, and Sora brought the Keyblade in front of him. He stared at it thoughtfully, and ran his fingertips over the length of the blade. He felt the energy thrum within the metal, and goose bumps appeared on his arms because of it. It almost felt as if the blade had a spirit of its own, and he felt oddly connected to it. He thought over Aerith's words, that so many lives could be taken. But apparently, many could be saved…by him. He couldn't just let people die, not if he could do anything to prevent it.

And so, wondering what the hell he was getting himself into, and why he was doing it, Sora sighed and met Aerith's kind gaze with a determined one of his own. "Alright." He said. It was no grand speech, but it was enough. She smiled gratefully, and Sora was sure he even saw a small smile on Leon's face as the man nodded once in approval. Goofy jumped for joy, and Donald grinned as well.

Now, how to pull off this 'saving the world' thing…

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"Do you think Sora's okay?" asked Kairi as she allowed her nails to be painted an odd assortment of random colors by Selphie. The concern in her tone was not missed by either of the girls in the room with her.

"Despite how he looks…Sora is tough. I'm sure he'll be fine!" Yuffie tried to sound convincing, but she only partly pulled off the effect.

Kairi sighed heavily, glancing out the window into the dark sky beyond the safety of the walls of her home. "I feel so useless…" she muttered.

"But…what could we possibly do?" Selphie replied as she switched from a teal to a lemon-yellow polish. This did nothing to change the redhead's attitude, and so she sighed before putting away the polish, having finished butchering any semblance of style on Kairi's nails. "If it makes you feel any better, we'll talk to Riku tomorrow. He seemed to have some lead on what's happening, but you know as well as I do we'll get nothing from him tonight." After her speech, the blonde looked up to find both girls staring at her a bit strangely. "What?" she asked defensively.

"That's possibly the most sensible and/or serious thing you've ever said." Yuffie stated bluntly.

Selphie's eyes narrowed just a bit. "You don't have to sound so amazed by it…" she muttered, causing the other two girls to giggle.

_Sora…_Kairi thought as she looked once more out the window. _I hope you're okay…_

"Okay…I think it's sappy romance movie time." Yuffie declared as she walked over to a stack of movies in the corner, knowing they were all in need of a good distraction at the moment. "Sleepless in Seattle anyone?"

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"Excellent." Ansem's tone, to Riku, somehow did not sound as praising as that word normally should.

A soft coughing from behind brought Riku's attention from the golden eyes in front of him, and back to the two women still in the room. Right…he had dragged Sora's mom along…

"Ah yes, I do believe I was in the middle of a session before this interruption." Ansem stated with an obvious hint to Riku that he should leave. He might as well have stated 'get out now' for as cold as his tone was. Then his demeanor suddenly changed, and he seemed like Mr. Nice Guy all over again. "You will be back tomorrow?"

Was that a statement or a question? Riku decided to answer anyway, and nodded tersely. "Excellent. I shall see you here at 3pm then. Good day." And just like that the conversation was over. No checking with Riku if the time was okay, and no further explanations on how Ansem would be helping him to find Sora. With a frustrated huff, Riku spun on his heel and practically stormed from the room. He didn't even bother with a goodbye; surely Ansem wouldn't be too torn over that one.

Looking quite uncertain, Sora's mother hesitated for a moment, looking back and forth between Ansem and Riku, before turning and following Riku back outside.

"Sorry about that, Ms. H." Riku muttered dejectedly as the woman walked out the front doors of the clinic.

"This is more serious than a simple kidnapping, isn't it Riku." She replied softly, staring out across the street, but not really seeing what was there.

Riku hesitated a bit to answer, but he figured he shouldn't lie to the woman about her own son. "Yes."

She sighed heavily, and tears began to well up in blue eyes so like her son's. "Will my baby be okay?"

Riku looked into the woman's eyes, and saw his own concern reflected back in them. "He will be." He said determinedly. "I promise."

The woman nodded, and gathered herself before walking to the car, and getting into the driver's seat. Riku followed, and there was a brief moment of silence as they pulled away from the clinic before Sora's mother spoke again. "I should have listened to him…"

"What?"

"Sora tried to tell me about Ansem. He told me that he was being intentionally unhelpful, but I refused to believe it. Oh, this is all my fault…what have I done to my baby boy?"

Riku blinked, and stared in surprise at the woman beside him. "Mrs. Hayate, nothing of this is your fault. I won't pretend to know everything, but from what I've seen…we're dealing with something that's over all of our heads. That's why I had to talk to Ansem. Somehow, he's involved in this, and as much as I hate it, I need him to be able to get to Sora."

The distressed woman took a moment to calm down, and sniffed once before glancing sideways at Riku. "What are you planning to do?"

Riku smiled ruefully, and glanced back at the barely visible clinic behind them. "Honestly? I don't know. I only know I plan to bring him back…as of right now I don't know how I'm going to do it. But I suppose that's what I'll find out tomorrow…"

Sabine Hayate looked carefully at Riku, as if seeing him for the first time. He was throwing himself into a potentially very dangerous situation…for her son. She got a sudden desire to ask if there was more to their relationship than just friends, but decided that would be a pretty tactless thing to do at the moment, so she said the other thing that was on her mind instead. "Please be careful, Riku. You've become almost as much a son to me as Sora is. So I want to see you both home safe and sound, you hear?"

Riku smiled as he saw the strength and optimism that both Sora and his mother were known for. "You bet, Mrs. Hayate. And I'll expect some of that famous lasagna when I bring Sora back!" he added with a mischievous grin.

Sabine smiled and nodded, reaching over to pat Riku's hand affectionately before turning her attention back to driving the boy home.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - -

Riku groaned and rolled onto his side as it suddenly sounded as if his door was being

Pounded with enough force to break it down. "Go 'way" he mumbled, not quite realizing that had not been loud enough to hear all the way through the house and through the front door. As the knocking sounded again, the silver-haired teen was jarred into consciousness, and he sat up abruptly as he actually realized someone was trying to get his attention.

With a great yawn, and stretching till his back popped, Riku stood up and walked to his front door, opening it without caring who might be on the other side to see him in his pajamas. He blinked a couple of times, and finally said " 'lo Kairi."

Kairi raised an eyebrow. "Honestly Riku, it's already noon! How can you still be asleep!"

Riku glared back. "Very easily." He muttered as he opened the door wider to allow Kairi, along with Selphie and Yuffie, inside. "Let me guess, you're here to ask about yesterday right?" Riku asked, wasting no time in getting to the point. It made since after all; he _had_ suddenly walked out on them all the day before.

"Yes, a bit of information would be nice." Kairi answered.

Yuffie walked by and made herself comfortable on the couch in the living room. "You went to see that Ansem guy right? Who is he, anyway?" she asked, laying down and propping her feet up on the armrest.

Riku raised an eyebrow at her position, and she quickly moved her feet so he could take a seat on the other side of the couch. Selphie and Kairi sat down around them. "He was Sora's psychiatrist. I'm afraid I really don't have any more information than you guys do. I'll tell you more after I go back to see him today. How's the situation at school?"

Selphie seemed least surprised by the sudden topic change, and was the first to answer. "You think we know any more than you do?" she asked with a slight smile. "Riku I think school is the last thing on anyone's mind right now."

Riku sighed, and glanced at the clock on the wall. 12:30. "Right…"

"You okay Riku? You seem…distracted."

Riku glanced quickly at Kairi, blinking as he refocused his eyes. "Yeah, I'm alright. I'm supposed to meet with Ansem again at three today." He muttered as way of explanation for his distracted state.

"What about yesterday?" Yuffie piped up, giving him a curious look. "Isn't that what you stormed off to do then, was talk to him?"

"I did, but he basically blew me off, and then demanded I meet him today." Riku muttered somewhat angrily. "With every word he says, I like him less, but if I want to find anything out…I'm going to have to play along." He blew the bangs from his face in a huff, and slumped against the back of the couch. "I'll give you guys information when I have it."

The girls nodded, and a semi-awkward silence fell across the room. "So there's nothing we can do, huh?" Kairi stated after a pause.

It was quiet again for a moment before Riku answered. "I'll tell you after I've talked to Ansem. For now I think the only thing we can do is go back to school and make sure things aren't too out of hand there."

"Ehh…I was afraid you were going to say that." Yuffie whined as she blew the bangs from her face. Riku's only reply was a smirk, and Kairi rolled her eyes.

"Okay then," Kairi stated, standing up, "we'll leave you to it, but I expect you to tell us everything." She pointed a warning finger at Riku in an unspoken threat.

Riku raised his eyebrows, and held up his hands in the surrender position. "Sure thing."

Kairi nodded once and, with the rest of the girls soon following, exited Riku's house.

As soon as the front door closed, Riku's hands dropped, and he sighed heavily, his face taking on a much more serious expression. Now there was nothing to do but wait. With another –softer- sigh, the silver-haired teen stood and walked to the kitchen to make lunch.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The bell made a soft tinkering sound as Riku stepped through the glass door into the clinic he already hated. The same receptionist sat at the desk, and immediately after she saw him, she puffed her cheeks and sent a half pout, half glare in his direction. Riku only rolled his eyes and strolled up to the desk. "I'm here for my meeting with Ansem."

The glare didn't leave the girl's face as she checked her computer to confirm his appointment, but by the time she looked back up, Riku was already walking toward the back rooms. "Hey--!" she called out, but he didn't turn around. "Jerk" she added under her breath and turned back around to greet the next person walking in.

Riku didn't even pause to knock as he pushed aside the door to Ansem's office. This time there was no one but the man himself sitting in the room. One silver eyebrow lifted as Ansem looked up from the notepad he was writing on. An odd smile crossed his lips as he sat back in his chair, and set down his pencil. "Hello Riku."

"Hello, Ansem." Riku replied, but his tone implied that the words were unpleasant on his tongue. He walked the short distance to the patients' chair, and sat stiffly on the slightly worn piece of furniture.

There was a long pause, and Riku felt distinctly uncomfortable, as the doctor's golden gaze seemed to be evaluating him inside and out. Finally the silence became too much. "You said you could help me?" he asked shortly, happy when he managed to sound only slightly nervous.

Ansem tilted his head to the side. "I can."

Riku blinked. That was definitely not the sort of answer he had been expecting. He waited a moment for the man continue, but was forced to speak again when he did not. "Then…will you?" He had to practically force the words through his teeth, as he was unaccustomed to asking for help from anyone.

"I will…if you will help me in return."

Language is a funny thing sometimes; Riku had never felt so trapped by mere words. He knew he would most likely have to do anything this man asked of him if he wanted to get anywhere with his search for Sora; that didn't make it any easier. With a resigned sigh and a heavy heart, Riku answered. "What do I have to do?"

"Oh come now, you sound simply dreadful!" He laughed almost jovially, seeming to be in lighter spirits at Riku's cooperation. "It's not so bad, really. I only need you…to fight for me."

Riku's head snapped up in surprise. "To…fight?"

"Yes. Enemies are troublesome, but superiors are far worse, don't you agree?"

"Umm…?"

"Isn't it funny how we are after the same person?"

Riku didn't say anything as his mind tried to process the flow of this man's conversation; a task that might be easier had there actually been one. The last question kept repeating in his mind. They were after the same guy? So then they were on the same side? But why, then, had this man not done anything before now? Through all the questions passing through his mind, Riku was eventually able to voice one of them. "…What?" _Oh smooth, Riku… _

Ansem chuckled. "No doubt you wonder why I would need you to fight for me. Surely I should have done something for myself by now, yes?"

"Ah, well I…"

"You would be correct. However, I sense a very strong energy in you that could do a lot of good if you are trained to use it properly." He paused, seeming to think something over before speaking up again. "Action without a plan leads only to failure. This is why I have taken no action yet. Xemnas is strong you see; and smart. He wouldn't be so powerful if he were any less. To defy him is a tricky task, but not impossible. I think you could be a great help in this."

Riku's eyes narrowed. "Let's not forget why I came to you in the first place." Finally he had regained his footing in the conversation. It was going to take some getting used to, talking to this man.

"Yes, yes, to find your beloved Sora, of course. But it all ties together in the end you see, for Xemnas is the very man that took Sora away."

A slightly surprised expression passed Riku's face before his gaze became suspicious. "And what do you get from this?"

Ansem smiled –a smile that sent a nervous chill through Riku's body. "That is nothing you should concern yourself with. You've got your business, as I have my own. I'll help you get to Sora, and you help me defeat my enemy."

Riku sighed, and bowed his head so that his face was completely hidden by a silver curtain of hair. "Alright. Just tell me what I need to do."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Sora stared up in awe at the large building he had been taken to. If asked to describe it, he would say it looked to be a cross between a normal warehouse, and some strange knock-off of Willy Wonka's chocolate factory. It looked like a factory at least, but there was no candy here. Instead, everywhere he looked there were stacks of colorful blocks of all shapes and sizes, giving the place a somewhat toy store feel as well. "Gummi Garage…?" he asked his companions as he read the large wooden sign hanging in the middle of the building.

A door Sora hadn't noticed before opened up to the right, and a gruff looking man with blond hair and a somewhat scruffy beard stepped out holding what looked to be a weed between his teeth. He didn't seem all that surprised to find people in his warehouse, and walked up to the odd group assembled at the entrance. "What can I do for yeh today?" he asked, looking over each of them briefly.

Leon stepped forward and spoke up, waving a hand in Sora's direction. "Our friends here need a ship."

The man moved his gaze to look over the three indicated by Leon. "Always straight to the point, aren't ya. And who's this?" he asked as his eyes came to rest on Sora.

"This is Sora, the Keyblade's chosen." Narrowed blue eyes widened slightly as this bit of information was revealed. "Sora, this is Cid. He's the best man around if you're looking to travel."

Cid, quickly recovering from his shock, puffed his chest proudly. "Damn right. So whatch'a need, kid? Something fast? Strong? Or if yer goin' the dangerous route, I got plenty o' weapons too."

Aerith giggled as she caught the expression on Sora's face, which was a mix between fear, confusion, and a reserved sort of interest. She walked over and laid a hand on the younger brunette's shoulder. "I think simply a balanced ship should do." She said to Cid, as it was obvious that Sora had no clue how to answer.

"Bah, always the practical one." He muttered in return, seeming very disappointed that she didn't want a super-sonic mutilation machine or something of the sort. Turning to a computer display a bit off to the right, Cid muttered to himself as he searched through the factory's database. "Ah-ha, this one should do nicely." He pressed a button on the panel, and a conveyer belt nearby started moving, bringing from a room in the back a standard-size ship. "I call it the Highwind. A basic model, but practical in all aspects." Donald and Goofy looked only slightly interested, but Sora was staring wide-eyed at the new object.

"So…it's a ship?" Sora asked aloud, walking slow circles around the Highwind, now proudly displayed before him. _Looks like something you'd get in a toy store…_ he thought to himself, not wanting to say so out loud as it seemed everyone else was quite serious about it.

Cid turned to Leon, and said in a voice that was very close to a hopeful whine, "Sure you don't want a newer model? Something jet-like…better…more weapons? Something--"

"Cid." Leon was quick to cut the man off. "The kid's never flown before, and the other two…well, they're not allowed to fly anymore. Keep it simple."

Sora blinked and looked up in curiosity. "Not allowed to fly? What did they do?"

Leon, with an amused glint in his eye, opened his mouth to explain, but was quickly cut off as Donald jumped up and covered his mouth so he couldn't speak. The explanation came out as a series of muffled noises. Leon glared at the duck, which turned to Sora and said "Nothing! It was an accident, really!"

"Yeah!" Goofy chimed in with a smile. "Not our fault that giant rock was floating in that spot…"

Donald smacked his forehead in defeat, and mumbled something under his breath. Sora stared for a moment before laughing. He took a moment to calm down before speaking again. "So who _is_ going to be flying then?"

Cid smirked, and crossed his arms over his chest. "I'll loan you two of my best engineers to start with. They'll teach you everything you need to know about gummy ships, and how to fly them. Then when you've got it down, bring them back and you're on your own." He paused for a moment before turning to the back and yelling out two names. "CHIP! DALE! GET OUT HERE!"

Sora looked to the direction Cid had aimed his shout, looking for two pirate types, or something else that would be like the other man. What he hadn't expected, were…"chipmunks?" The brunette closed his eyes and reopened them a couple of times, to make sure he was seeing right, as the two small animals scurried across the garage floor to stand beside Cid.

"Yes sir!" They saluted in unison, standing at attention next to Cid.

"Boys, meet your new pupil." Cid told the two, waving a hand in Sora's direction.

Sora gave them a half grin, and raised his hand into a wave. The chipmunks suddenly darted over to him, running up his pant legs, and running circles around his body. Sora laughed, and twisted awkwardly as he tried to follow their movements. Finally they stopped, one on each of his shoulders.

"Hi! I'm Chip!" The one on his left shoulder said, extending a small paw forward. Sora shook it with two fingers.

"And I'm Dale!" Sora did the same handshake with the animal on his right shoulder. The only real distinctive difference he could see between the two was that Chip's nose was black, and Dale's was red.

"Sora." Was his reply, introducing himself.

"So when're we leavin'?" Dale asked, jumping up excitedly. It was obvious he loved flying.

Sora brought a hand to the back of his head, and shrugged. He sent an unsure glance to Leon, the man who had quickly become his guidance in this strange world.

"Don't look at me." The older brunette said at Sora's look. "You're in Donald and Goofy's hands now." He turned to look at the two indicated. "You're heading towards Twilight Town, right? To look for the king?"

They both nodded in reply, and Donald pulled the King's letter from his pocket to check it once more, just to be sure. Suddenly his demeanor changed, and he thrust a hand into the air. "To Twilight Town!"

Sora blanched slightly. "R-right now?"

"Never a better time than the present!" Goofy said with a grin, before walking over to Sora and looping arms with him, guiding him towards the ship.

Sending a somewhat apprehensive glance towards Aerith and Leon, Sora allowed himself to be led to the ship.

"If you need to contact us, you should be able to reach us through the radio." Aerith assured with a smile and a wave.

"Oh! One sec, boys." Cid suddenly said, and ran off towards the back room again. When he returned, he was holding five backpacks. "Here ya go…these are filled with supplies; food, water, and such…should last a few weeks." After handing out the packs, he turned his attention to the chipmunks. "If you run out of supplies, or have problems with the ship, return here immediately, ya hear? Be sure to keep record of your travels."

Dale waved him off. "Yeah, yeah, we know. Make the maps clear, don't do anything dangerous…we'll be good."

Cid snorted, and rolled his eyes. "Just be sure Sora learns everything he'll need to know."

Chip saluted the man. "You betcha'!" he said, and scurried into the ship. Dale soon followed, as well as Donald and Goofy with a couple of simple and quick goodbyes. Sora hesitated a bit longer; he was barely starting to get used to this place, and now was being forced to leave! But with the way things were going now, it looked as if he was going to have to get used to this for a while if he ever wanted to make it back home.

"Well, um…thanks, I guess. For, you know…um…" he trailed off, as he wasn't quite sure what he was thanking them for. The hospitality? Explanations?

Aerith smiled, and gave him a small parting hug. "Don't worry about it Sora. We'll be here next time you come back. Don't be a stranger, okay?"

Sora laughed nervously in response. "Alright…" He turned back towards the ship when he heard Goofy call his name. With one last nervous glance towards Aerith and Leon, he gave a hesitant wave, and boarded the ship.

The ship was somehow a lot roomier than it looked from the outside. There was a separate room for each passenger, one bathroom, and the cockpit. Nothing extravagant, but it was more than Sora was expecting. The hatch closed, and Sora gulped at the feeling of finality that settled over him. This was it…the beginning of an adventure into places unknown.

A sudden command from Chip broke Sora from his thoughts, saving him from working himself into a worried state. "Alright everybody, take a seat! We're getting ready for takeoff! Sora, come up front."

Sora shook his head to get rid of his lingering concern, and walked towards the pilots. It wouldn't do to dwell on things that couldn't be changed. He vowed to himself then to take anything that would come to him from now on in stride. No more questioning; just doing.

There was a large enough seat for Sora in between Chip and Dale's that gave him a clear view of the entire control panel. He watched as they explained the process required to warm up the engine, and prepare the ship for takeoff. Sora's hands gripped the edges of his seat so tightly his knuckles turned white as the ship turned in its spot, and a large garage door he hadn't noticed before lifted. The tunnel behind it lit up, and the seat vibrated beneath him as the ship's engine roared to life.

"Here we go!" Dale shouted as he hit the throttle, and the ship shot forward through the tunnel into its unknown destination.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"So…we have to leave right now?" Riku asked the silent man walking beside him. They had been walking for near twenty minutes now, and were deep within the trees of the city's park. It was dark outside, as night had fallen two hours before, and only half of the moon's light shone down on them. But even that meager amount was almost completely blocked by the dense trees all around them.

"The less time we waste, the better off we will be." Ansem answered shortly, seemingly very focused on something around them.

"Could I at least tell my friends…--?"

"It will be better if they do not know."

"But they're already involved in this! They're going to wonder why I disappeared."

"They would try to keep you from going."

Riku furrowed his brow in slight confusion. "Why, do they know something I don't?"

Ansem rolled his eyes toward the sky. "Do they care about you?"

"Well…yeah…"

"And they don't know what exactly you're doing, or where you're going."

Riku paused for a moment. "Oh…good point…I guess."

Ansem didn't reply, but suddenly stopped, and Riku barely kept himself from running into the man's back. "What is it?" The silver-haired teen asked.

"The best spot."

"Spot?"

"To create a portal." He decided to explain before Riku could ask, as he could practically feel the question forming in the teen's mind. "There are some places where the connection to the worlds is weaker, thus making the creation of portals easier. Xemnas is stronger than I, so he didn't have to bother finding the weak points."

"Oh…" Riku had had his mouth open to ask that very question. He stopped for a moment, then a thought clicked in his mind. "Wait a minute."

Ansem stopped, and sighed heavily. "What?"

"If he could do that…then why didn't he just make a portal to Sora's room one night and take him then? If he's so strong…why did he spend a year messing around?"

Ansem turned and studied the boy before him closely with a narrowed golden gaze, deciding how much the boy should know. "To go through a portal created by darkness…one must have a certain amount of darkness in their heart, otherwise the portal will reject them."

_Darkness…?_ "But, wait…--"

"Come. The weak spots do not stay in the same place for too long."

Riku snapped his jaw shut, the question still burning on the tip of his tongue. It was obvious that he would get no answer though. He let out the rest of the thought in a heavy sigh, and decided to just keep his guard up. He didn't like the implications of what Ansem had said at all. But for now he was going to have to just accept it. His thoughts were still focused inward as he was ushered forward through the newly created portal before him.

When he next looked up, it was to see a huge castle before him, across a vast sea that dropped off into waterfalls that seemed to lead to nowhere. He took a moment to take in everything around him, before turning to the man beside him that seemed to look upon the castle with a fond gaze. "Wh-where are we?" he questioned, looking back towards the building.

A crooked smile crept its way across Ansem's lips. "Welcome to Hollow Bastion, Riku."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

A/N I…feel terrible about taking so long to update. Forgive me! T-T And on top of that…it's even shorter than usual. (6500 words…15 pages) This chapter, for some reason, was rather hard to get out. I just kept getting stuck on what to write…

Bleh, well, anyway, um…any suggestions for where Sora should go next chapter? (Honestly I don't have anything planned for the immediate future of this story…)

Also sorry if the flow is ever off…sometimes I'd get stuck at a pretty odd point. Like…mid-conversation half the time. Just let me know if something sticks out as being bad, yeah? I'll read over it again later, but for now I just want to get this posted I guess.

As always…reviews are loved and inspire me to write! (It was usually after getting another review that I would pick this story up and try to finish this chapter, after all.)


End file.
